Special counsel says deceased NEC official's note cites no coercion
Summary
A special counsel team said Friday that a deceased National Election Commission official’s note did not mention coercion by investigators after questioning in Hwaseong on Wednesday. The official, in his 40s, was found dead outside his apartment a day after questioning. His lawyer had alleged that investigators pressured him and that there were procedural shortcomings in the interrogation records. The team said the note mentioned organizational problems at the NEC and said the official held no grudge against the special counsel.
Key Facts
- The investigation team, led by special counsel Lee Tae-han, said it reviewed the note through proper procedures.
- The special counsel team began its investigation on Sept. 7 into allegations involving the NEC, including ballot shortages and suspected manipulation of voter-turnout data during the June local elections.
- Lee asked the Serious Crime Investigation Agency to assign 10 investigators to his team, saying it was severely understaffed.
- Lee said forensic analysis of the NEC election management system servers had been ongoing for over a month.
The National Election Commission in Gwacheon / Yonhap
A National Election Commission (NEC) official, who was found dead a day after undergoing questioning by a special counsel, did not mention any coercive interrogation by special counsel investigators in a note he left behind, the investigation team claimed Friday.
The NEC official, in his 40s, was found dead outside his apartment in Hwaseong, south of Seoul, on Wednesday morning. He left a suicide note, in which he reportedly expressed grievances over the questioning he faced the previous day.
The NEC official's lawyer, who was present during the questioning, earlier claimed that investigators had pressured and coerced the deceased and that there had been procedural shortcomings in drawing up his interrogation records.
The investigation team, led by special counsel Lee Tae-han, said it has checked the content of the deceased's suicide note through proper procedures, and confirmed that it did not mention any coercion.
The deceased rather mentioned that he did not hold a grudge against the special counsel, while only pointing out organizational problems at the NEC, the team added.
The special counsel team was launched on Sept. 7 to look into multiple allegations of misconduct involving the NEC, including ballot shortages and suspected manipulation of voter turnout data during the local elections in June.
Meanwhile, Lee visited the Serious Crime Investigation Agency (SCIA) in the afternoon to request personnel support from the agency.
Lee told reporters before meeting with SCIA chief Kim Ji-yong that his team is severely understaffed and he plans to ask the agency to assign 10 investigators to his team.
"The scope of the special counsel team's investigation is quite broad. A significant amount of time is being devoted to preliminary investigative work, and the forensic analysis of the NEC's election management system servers has been ongoing for over a month," Lee said.
He said he is well aware that the SCIA itself has an insufficient number of investigators but that his team has to establish the facts surrounding various allegations involving the NEC within a limited timeframe.
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