'Incomprehensible': NEC responds to Yoon's statements on possible election fraud
Published: 13 Dec. 2024, 18:31
Audio report: written by reporters, read by AI
![Footage from the surveillance cameras at the National Election Commission's headquarters shows soldiers taking photos of the commission's data servers on Dec. 3. [NATIONAL ASSEMBLY]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/13/a5f6c838-f05e-47c7-ad0f-8955578d56d3.jpg)
Footage from the surveillance cameras at the National Election Commission's headquarters shows soldiers taking photos of the commission's data servers on Dec. 3. [NATIONAL ASSEMBLY]
The National Election Commission (NEC) issued a detailed rebuttal of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s public statement suggesting the possibility of election fraud, saying that Yoon's viewpoint is "utterly incomprehensible."
NEC Secretary General Kim Yong-bin, expressed his concerns during a parliamentary inquiry at the Public Administration and Security Committee at the National Assembly complex in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Friday.
Referring to Yoon’s claim that inspecting the NEC’s election system was one of the reasons for declaring martial law, Kim said, "From the NEC's perspective, this is utterly incomprehensible."
"We are equally puzzled."
In his address the previous day, Yoon questioned the reliability of the election management system, saying, "How can our people trust election results when the computer system that manages the elections — the very foundation of democracy — is in such disarray?"
"For this reason, I directed the minister of national defense to inspect the National Election Commission’s computer systems," Yoon said.
Yoon also said, "In the second half of last year, North Korea hacked into constitutional institutions, such as the National Election Commission and other government organizations," addiing, "when National Intelligence Service employees tested the system through a mock hacking exercise, they found that it was possible to manipulate the data there at will. "
"The NIS investigation found no traces of hacking,” said Kim Yong-bin. "We conducted a simulated hacking experiment in collaboration with the NIS by temporarily lowering our security level.”
![President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a public address at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Thursday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2024/12/13/9d588e3b-b962-4c2e-8ac0-d0b3a06a859d.jpg)
President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a public address at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Thursday. [PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE]
Addressing Yoon’s claim that the NEC "is a constitutional body, and some of its commissioners are from the judiciary," and therefore, "it is virtually impossible to initiate a warrant-based search and seizure and conduct compulsory investigations," Kim said that the commission is legally obligated "to comply with search and seizure requests and has no grounds to refuse them." Kim cited a past hiring corruption case in which such searches were carried out.
The NEC also released a statement regarding the seizure of the NEC server, where it refuted Yoon's claims.
Regarding Yoon’s claims that "there were virtually no firewalls" and the "the password was very simple, like '12345,'" the NEC said, "During the joint security consultation, exceptions to the NEC's security policies, such as disabling firewalls, were made temporarily for efficient inspection."
The commission said that it operates its systems used for its elections and the internet with physical separation between networks. It also said it uses over 50 firewalls and server access control systems to block unauthorized users from accessing critical systems.
The NEC said that "some systems did have simple passwords, but these were promptly changed during the implementation of security consultation findings." The commission also said that "two-factor authentication, using certificates and mobile verification, has been adopted for critical systems."
Yoon stated, "Even before the last general elections on April 24, 2024, I demanded improvements to the areas of concern," adding, "it is still impossible to verify whether relevant improvements were made." The NEC responded: "Following the security consultation, most vulnerabilities identified were addressed through the establishment of an implementation task force."
On Yoon’s criticism that "the system security management company was very small and lacked expertise," the NEC said, "The integrated monitoring company at the time of the 2023 joint security consultation was a specialized information security firm certified as a security monitoring company, information protection service provider and software business operator."
The NEC also issued a statement the previous day, saying, "The president’s recent statement makes it clear that the unconstitutional and illegal actions of martial law troops occupying NEC offices and attempting to seize servers were without any legal basis."
"This is tantamount to self-denial regarding the very election management system through which he was elected president."
BY KIM MIN-YOUNG [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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