Civic groups have filed complaints against top officials of the National Election Commission (NEC) over their alleged mishandling of early voting for COVID-19 patients last week ahead of the March 9 presidential election.
The election watchdog came under fire over the weekend following revelations that patients were not allowed to put their votes into ballot boxes by themselves, and election officials instead collected them in plastic bags and other unofficial containers during the early voting for infected voters Saturday.
Some voters raised the suspicion of election rigging, but the NEC flatly rejected this.
According to legal sources, a civic group filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors Office against NEC Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee, Kim Se-hwan, director general of the NEC secretariat, and other commission officials, Monday, alleging neglect of duty and a violation of the Public Official Election Law.
The group claimed the NEC's handling of the early voting was "shockingly poor" and "unseen even in underdeveloped countries," and demanded that Noh be investigated.
A separate civic group also filed a similar complaint Sunday.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office is expected to launch an investigation after Wednesday's election. (Yonhap)
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