National Election Commission (NEC) officials who allegedly omitted audit findings when preparing budget requests have been referred to prosecutors.
The Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit of Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police Agency announced Wednesday that it had sent two NEC employees, including an official identified as "A," to prosecutors earlier this month on charges of preparing and using falsified official documents and obstructing public duties through deception.
In 2023, the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) released its audit results of the NEC, pointing out that the "Fair Election Promotion Activity Allowance" paid to non-standing commissioners since 2013 had no legal basis. The allowance amounts to 2.9 million won per month for the chairman and 2.15 million won per month for each of the seven commissioners.
The BAI had previously notified the NEC in August 2019 that the allowance did not qualify as actual expense reimbursement as stipulated in the National Election Commission Act, and that payments should be discontinued and regulations amended.
However, official "A" and others are accused of omitting these findings when preparing the fiscal year 2021 budget request to the Ministry of Economy and Finance in 2020, before the regulations were revised. Budget requests are required to include items flagged by the BAI.
The budget subsequently passed review by the National Assembly and the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The NEC was found to have paid a total of 650 million won ($480,000) to 15 non-standing commissioners through November 2022 under the pretext of courtesy treatment. However, following an amendment to the NEC Act in January last year, there is now a legal basis for paying allowances to non-standing commissioners.
