Opposition ups stakes on NEC attack
By Park Si-soo
Opposition parties have been building up their political offense against the ruling Grand National Party (GNP) as a GNP official is suspected of having orchestrated an unprecedented cyber attack on the National Election Com mission’s website in October in an apparent attempt to influence voter turnout.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) will form a fact-finding committee and seek to launch a large-scale investigation into the case, raising the possibility that higher-ups in the ruling party pulled strings from behind the scenes. Police echo the view.
The DP also warned that it would seek a parliamentary probe into the case, which it alleges brings to mind the fraud-ridden presidential election of March 15, 1960.
The incident has dealt another blow to the ruling GNP already beleaguered by election losses and the reinvigoration of the opposition camp.
A 27-year-old secretary of Rep. Choi Ku-sik asked three Internet experts to cripple the National Election Commission’s website on the morning of the by-elections on Oct. 26, through a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack.
The attack shut down the website from 6:15 a.m. to 8:32 a.m., making it impossible for many voters in their 20s and 30s to find their polling stations’ location on their way to work or school. The elections included the crucial race for the Seoul mayoralty in which analysts predicted that a low turnout among young voters would give an advantage to the ruling party candidate.
The four suspects, including Choi’s secretary, were arrested Saturday. They are denying the charges, according to police. Rep. Choi has vehemently denied his involvement in the crime. “If police find anything hinting at my involvement, I will immediately resign,” he said.
“A fact-finding committee will be needed to get to the bottom of the unprecedented incident,” said DP lawmaker Baek Won-woo. “If a police investigation is unsatisfactory, we will seek a parliamentary probe into the case.” Baek said police “must not treat it as an individual’s crime. They should clearly uncover who inside the GNP planned and ordered it.”
The party will hold a decision-making Supreme Council meeting today, in which it will finalize the committee’s members and map out its mission. Other opposition parties are also poised to join the move.
“No tolerance should be allowed when it comes to investigating such a cyber attack on a state institute,” said Moon Jung-lim, a spokesman for the minor opposition Liberty Forward Party.
The scandal has stunned many GNP lawmakers. “Police should investigate it thoroughly and punish all the people involved,” said Rep. Nam Kyung-pil.
Rep. Lee Jae-oh, a right-hand man of President Lee Myung-bak, also vented his frustration, “It’s a grave crime against democracy. Those responsible for it will pay the price,” he said.
The National Election Com mission issued a statement deploring the news Friday.
“The motive and masterminds of the crime must be pinpointed so the people are aware of who were responsible,” it said. It called the cyber attack not only an obstruction of public duty but also a threat to fair elections and a grave challenge to the country’s democracy.