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The special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han, tasked with investigating the ballot paper shortage in the June 3 local elections, withdraws with seized items from the Daegu Election Commission on the 17th as full-scale compulsory investigation begins. / Yonhap News

The special counsel team led by Lee Tae-han, tasked with investigating various allegations surrounding the election commission, including the ballot paper shortage in the June 3 local elections, launched a compulsory investigation just ten days after its inception, initiating a full-scale probe into the suspicions. This comes ten days after the team was launched on the 7th.

Starting at 9:10 a.m. on the 17th, the special counsel team executed search and seizure warrants at a total of 10 locations, including the National Election Commission (NEC) and local election commissions, securing relevant materials.

The targets of the search and seizure were the NEC, the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission, the Gimpo City Election Commission in Gyeonggi Province, the Uijeongbu City Election Commission in Gyeonggi Province, the Incheon Metropolitan Election Commission, the Yeonsu District Election Commission in Incheon, the Daegu Metropolitan Election Commission, the Dong District Election Commission in Daegu, the Busan Metropolitan Election Commission, and the Buk District Election Commission in Busan.

The special counsel team deployed a total of 75 personnel for the raids, including one assistant special prosecutor, six prosecutors, and 68 investigators.

Most of the search and seizure operations wrapped up around 9 p.m. that day, about 12 hours after they began. However, the search of the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission remains underway. An official from the team said, "We plan to finish tomorrow at locations that could not be completed today, and additional searches could be conducted at the NEC."

After analyzing the materials secured on the day, the special counsel team plans to determine whether to conduct additional searches and seizures, as well as whether and when to summon figures involved, including former NEC Chairman Noh Tae-ak.

                                                                                                            Park Jun-sang