Election officials in South Korea deny allegations of fraud against the ousted president

Amid allegations of vote tampering by impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol, the secretary general of South Korea’s National Election Commission defended the election’s integrity on Tuesday.

On December 3, Kim Yong-bin testified during a hearing in Yoon’s impeachment trial on the president’s decision to establish temporary martial law.

After deploying troops to the NEC during martial law, Yoon said that the NEC’s unwillingness to address concerns about election hacking was a contributing factor in the decree’s need.

After weaknesses were discovered, Kim stated that the independent commission had improved cybersecurity by introducing multi-factor authentication and updating passwords. “It is unfortunate that the controversy over election fraud continues,” she added.

Baek Jong-wook, a former National Intelligence Service official, stated that during an investigation in 2023, the spy agency had found flaws on NEC servers, but that their research was restricted to computer security and did not uncover any evidence of electoral fraud.

After Yoon was impeached by the opposition-controlled parliament on December 14, the Constitutional Court will determine whether to restore him or remove him from office permanently.

Yoon is incarcerated on separate insurrection-related criminal offenses.

The “Stop the Steal” chants made popular by supporters of U.S. President Donald Trump have been adopted by Yoon’s fans, who expressed their optimism that Trump will assist their struggling leader.

Yoon’s justification for his conduct is similar to Trump’s arguments about potential anomalies in the voting process and protecting the nation from both internal and external threats.

Yoon sent hundreds of military to raid the National Election Commission (NEC) and subsequently claimed North Korea had hacked the NEC, although he provided no proof. Yoon did not address election-related matters when he first declared martial law.

During the court on Thursday, Yoon’s attorney, Bae Bo-yoon, stated that the deployment of troops to the NEC was lawful as the commission is subject to warrants permitted under martial law.

Another lawyer, Cha Gi-hwan, expressed concerns about China meddling in the elections in South Korea.

On Monday, China’s ambassador to Seoul, Dai Bing, wrote on X that Beijing “has all along upheld the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs.”

The U.S. military leadership in South Korea also refuted as “entirely false” rumors in January that the United States had arrested almost 100 Chinese agents suspected of influencing elections, a claim that was spread by proponents of Yoon.