Latest news with #PublicOfficialElectionAct
Hans India
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
South Korea: Election worker apprehended after allegedly casting vote on husband's behalf
Seoul: An election worker in South Korea was apprehended this week after allegedly casting an early vote for the June 3 presidential election on her husband's behalf, police said on Friday. The woman was identified as a contract employee for Seoul's Gangnam district office who was appointed by the National Election Commission (NEC) to help check voters' IDs during the two-day early voting on Thursday and Friday, according to Suseo Police Station. Police detained the woman without a warrant Thursday, about half an hour after they received a call that someone had voted twice at a polling station in Gangnam's Daechi 2-dong neighbourhood. She is being questioned on suspicion of casting a ballot using her husband's ID before casting her own ballot several hours later. The woman reportedly admitted to all charges but refused to disclose a motive. Both the Gangnam district office and the NEC said they have relieved her of her duties. The NEC also filed a complaint against the woman with the police while requesting an investigation into her husband's possible involvement. "A vote by proxy by an election worker who should strictly and fairly oversee the presidential election is a very serious election crime that brutally tramples on the people's trust in election administration," the commission said. The woman's ballots cannot be nullified as they have already been placed inside ballot boxes, a commission official said. The vote count will proceed normally. In light of this and other incidents, the conservative People Power Party (PPP) on Friday lambasted the poor management in early voting elections, demanding the chief of the election watchdog apologise, Yonhap news agency reported. Kim Moon-soo, the party's presidential candidate, denounced the NEC after meeting with reporters in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, saying the institution must "wake up" and undergo a "sweeping overhaul." "Why is the NEC still not fixing these problems, after going through many similar cases in the past, like the basket election incident?" he asked, referring to the controversy over the transportation of ballot papers from Covid-19 patients in plastic baskets during the early voting for the 2022 presidential election. Rep. Kim Yong-tae, the party's interim leader, also blamed the NEC for its inadequate election management while referring to a series of incidents that took place during the early voting. Voters reportedly went out to eat while carrying ballot papers in Sinchon, western Seoul, on Thursday. "We will review revising the Public Official Election Act to have election officials sign the early-voting ballot papers," Kim said. He also demanded a comprehensive inspection and overhaul of all early-voting sites, and said those responsible for the incidents must be duly reprimanded. "The Chairman of the NEC should stand before the people himself and sincerely apologise," Kim added. Rep. Shin Dong-uk, the PPP's spokesperson, said the liberal Democratic Party (DP) has not been sufficiently critical of the NEC. "The DP has collected a lot of votes in early voting and that party's silence is even more irresponsible (than the NEC's mishaps)," Shin said. "Is the DP the defender of a rigged election?" xd
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Election worker apprehended after allegedly casting vote on husband's behalf
An election worker was apprehended this week after allegedly casting an early vote for the June 3 presidential election on her husband's behalf, police said Friday. The woman was identified as a contract employee for Seoul's Gangnam district office who was appointed by the National Election Commission (NEC) to help check voters' IDs during the two-day early voting Thursday and Friday, according to Suseo Police Station. Police detained the woman without a warrant Thursday, about half an hour after they received a call that someone had voted twice at a polling station in Gangnam's Daechi 2-dong neighborhood. She is being questioned on suspicion of casting a ballot using her husband's ID before casting her own ballot several hours later. The woman reportedly admitted to all charges but refused to disclose a motive. Both the Gangnam district office and the NEC said they have relieved her of her duties. The NEC also filed a complaint against the woman with the police while requesting an investigation into her husband's possible involvement. "A vote by proxy by an election worker who should strictly and fairly oversee the presidential election is a very serious election crime that brutally tramples on the people's trust in election administration," the commission said. The woman's ballots cannot be nullified as they have already been placed inside ballot boxes, a commission official said. The vote count will proceed normally. In light of this and other incidents, the conservative People Power Party (PPP) on Friday lambasted the poor management in early voting elections, demanding the chief of the election watchdog apologize. Kim Moon-soo, the party's presidential candidate, denounced the NEC after meeting with reporters in Jecheon, North Chungcheong Province, saying the institution must "wake up" and undergo a "sweeping overhaul." "Why is the NEC still not fixing these problems, after going through many similar cases in the past, like the basket election incident?" he asked, referring to the controversy over the transportation of ballot papers from COVID-19 patients in plastic baskets during the early voting for the 2022 presidential election. Rep. Kim Yong-tae, the party's interim leader, also blamed the NEC for its inadequate election management while referring to a series of incidents that took place during the early voting. Voters reportedly went out to eat while carrying ballot papers in Sinchon, western Seoul, on Thursday. "We will review revising the Public Official Election Act to have election officials sign the early-voting ballot papers," Kim said. He also demanded a comprehensive inspection and overhaul of all early-voting sites, and said those responsible for the incidents must be duly reprimanded. "The chairman of the NEC should stand before the people himself and sincerely apologize," Kim added. Rep. Shin Dong-uk, the PPP's spokesperson, said the liberal Democratic Party (DP) has not been sufficiently critical of the NEC. "The DP has collected a lot of votes in early voting and that party's silence is even more irresponsible (than the NEC's mishaps)," Shin said. "Is the DP the defender of a rigged election?" (Yonhap)
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Personal stamps cannot be used on ballots: S.Korea poll body
"You must stamp your personal seal on the ballot to completely block election fraud! Don't forget to bring your seal!!!" reads a Korean-language X post shared on May 26, 2025. The post features a poster for a recently released documentary titled "Election Fraud: A Work of God?" which drew media attention when former president Yoon showed up to a screening (archived link). Yoon had claimed his failed martial law declaration, which saw troops sent to the National Election Commission (NEC) premises, was partly aimed at investigating voter fraud allegations popular with the country's far-right conspiracy theorists (archived link). Yoon is on trial for insurrection charges over his failed attempt to scrap civilian rule and South Korea has been effectively leaderless since his suspension. South Korea will select a new president on June 3, with early voting kicking off five days prior (archived link). All major polls have placed liberal Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party as the clear frontrunner in the presidential race. Trailing behind him is conservative ex-labour minister Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party -- Yoon's former party. Similar claims about marking ballots spread elsewhere on X as well as on Facebook. However, following the advice shared in these false posts invalidates votes. Ballots must be marked with devices provided at polling stations and not with personal seals, the NEC said in an information sheet about voting on its website (archived link). Writing in names or using fingerprints to mark a ballot would render it invalid, the NEC said. An official from the commission told AFP on May 29 this is to ensure the secrecy of voting as required by the law, saying using a personal stamp "can expose the voter's identity" (archived link). The Public Official Election Act states ballots marked with anything else shall be nullified (archived link). AFP has debunked more misinformation around South Korea's presidential vote here, here and here.
Korea Herald
3 days ago
- Politics
- Korea Herald
Complaints filed against YouTubers for creating deepfakes of presidential candidates
The National Election Commission said Friday it had filed complaints against three YouTubers for creating and uploading deepfake content featuring presidential candidates. 'With the election nearing, (the NEC) reported three YouTube channel operators for posting audio, images and videos of presidential candidates, generated through artificial intelligence, with the purpose of either increasing or reducing their chances of winning,' the election authorities said in a press release. This is the first time the NEC has filed a complaint against individuals for creating and distributing deepfakes of presidential candidates since relevant regulations were enacted through an amendment to the Public Official Election Act in December 2023. The revised Public Official Election Act bans the creation, editing, distribution or posting of AI-generated audio, images or videos of unclear authenticity during the 90 days ahead of Election Day, which is Tuesday. Violating the law could result in up to seven years in prison or a fine ranging between 10 million won ($7,250) and 50 million won. According to the NEC, the three individuals are accused of 35 counts of posting images of a candidate behind bars in a prisoner's uniform, as well as creating and posting 10 videos on YouTube of an AI-generated female news anchor promoting a candidate's victory or defeat. The individuals are also accused of posting content and videos on their personal social media accounts conveying a negative image of a specific candidate using deepfake technology. The AI-generated materials were reportedly related to Democratic Party of Korea candidate Rep. Lee Jae-myung and People Power Party candidate Kim Moon-soo, according to the NEC. 'With less than a week remaining until the 21st presidential election, we are focusing our efforts on cracking down on illegal activities occurring in cyberspace,' said the NEC. The presidential election is set for June 3. Early voting began on Thursday, with turnout reaching 27.17 percent of all eligible voters as of 1 p.m. on Friday.
AFP
3 days ago
- Politics
- AFP
Personal stamps cannot be used on ballots: S.Korea poll body
"You must stamp your personal seal on the ballot to completely block election fraud! Don't forget to bring your seal!!!" reads a Korean-language X post shared on May 26, 2025. The post features a poster for a recently released documentary titled "Election Fraud: A Work of God?" which drew media attention when former president Yoon showed up to a screening (archived link). Yoon had claimed his failed martial law declaration, which saw troops sent to the National Election Commission (NEC) premises, was partly aimed at investigating voter fraud allegations popular with the country's far-right conspiracy theorists (archived link). Yoon is on trial for insurrection charges over his failed attempt to scrap civilian rule and South Korea has been effectively leaderless since his suspension. Image Screenshot of the X post taken May 29, 2025 South Korea will select a new president on June 3, with early voting kicking off five days prior (archived link). All major polls have placed liberal Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party as the clear frontrunner in the presidential race. Trailing behind him is conservative ex-labour minister Kim Moon-soo of the ruling People Power Party -- Yoon's former party. Similar claims about marking ballots spread elsewhere on X as well as on Facebook. However, following the advice shared in these false posts invalidates votes. Ballots must be marked with devices provided at polling stations and not with personal seals, the NEC said in an information sheet about voting on its website (archived link). Image Screenshot of the NEC Q&A displaying the official ballot marking device, taken May 30 Writing in names or using fingerprints to mark a ballot would render it invalid, the NEC said. An official from the commission told AFP on May 29 this is to ensure the secrecy of voting as required by the law, saying using a personal stamp "can expose the voter's identity" (archived link). The Public Official Election Act states ballots marked with anything else shall be nullified (archived link). AFP has debunked more misinformation around South Korea's presidential vote here, here and here.
