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NEC files complaint against 'Huawei'-crying election observers

Published: 18 Apr. 2025, 18:42 Updated: 20 Apr. 2025, 17:31

Residents cast their ballots in the Guro District Office by-election in Guro District, western Seoul, on March 28. [NEWS1]

The National Election Commission (NEC) filed a police complaint on Friday against three election overseers who allegedly disrupted the vote-counting process in the Guro District Office by-election held on April 2.

The NEC said that the interruption was based on “unreasonable assumptions.”

The three observers claimed that a Wi-Fi network with the name “Huawei-76A5” appeared on their mobile phones at the counting site, indicating that “Chinese forces” were attempting to hack the vote reporting system.

The individuals also appeared to be skeptical of the security seals on the ballot boxes, reportedly asking about their credibility as well as the potential of being swapped with another box.

They further insisted on verifying leftover ballots brought from polling stations, saying they wanted to check “whether NEC staff were tampering with the papers.” The NEC accused them of exceeding their authority and interfering with the legitimate vote-counting procedures conducted by the Guro District’s election committee.

The NEC emphasized that the network used at counting centers is a closed-loop system completely separated from external internet access. It dismissed any claims of Huawei’s involvement in NEC election equipment as “entirely groundless.”

The commission also addressed concerns about the security seals on ballot boxes. It stated that all seals display a clear “Open Void” mark if removed and include signatures from polling officials and overseers, making their reuse impossible.

To improve transparency, the NEC announced it will continue to manually count the ballots as well as surveil the early ballot storage areas. It also plans to work with academic groups to operate a nonpartisan observation team, which will monitor and publicly walk through every step of the voting and counting process.

“We hope to put an end to unnecessary controversy fueled by baseless claims of election fraud,” the NEC said. “We will do our utmost to restore public trust through fair and transparent election management.”

Translated from the JoongAng Ilbo using generative AI and edited by Korea JoongAng Daily staff.

BY JEONG JAE-HONG [[email protected]]