Police book nine more suspected accomplices in election spy cam investigations

Police have booked nine more suspected accomplices in the recently detected installations of spy cameras at about 40 polling stations ahead of the April 10 parliamentary elections, officials said Monday.

Police earlier arrested a YouTuber in his 40s on suspicions of placing spy cameras at around 40 early polling stations and vote-counting locations in Incheon, Seoul, Busan, Daegu and elsewhere, just ahead of the two-day early voting period for the elections.

The YouTuber has previously raised election manipulation suspicions on his channel regarding the 2022 presidential election and other elections. During his recent investigation, he reportedly told police that he wanted to monitor the National Election Commission's manipulation of turnout rates for early voting.

The Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon, west of Seoul, announced Monday that nine more people were booked for investigation on charges of assisting the YouTuber when he broke into polling stations across the nation and installed hidden cameras.

Charges of trespassing and violations of the communications secret protection act were raised against them.

Police suspect that the nine suspected accomplices either provided financial assistance to the YouTuber or assisted in other ways, such as accompanying him to the polling stations and keeping watch for him.

Some of them had allegedly promised they would help him retrieve the hidden cameras afterward.

Police have previously referred the YouTuber and two more suspected accomplices to the prosecution for further investigation and potential indictment. The nine additional suspects were identified while police went though related data and other evidence.

Police concluded that no secret filming of the early voting took place, as the hidden cameras were detected and removed beforehand.

Yonhap