"Seizing NEC Servers to Analyze Evidence"... Protests at Vote Counting Center Prolonged

[Anchor]

The joint investigation team of prosecutors and police, which is looking into the ballot paper shortage incident, has completed its search and seizure of the National Election Commission (NEC) servers and will begin summoning NEC staff for questioning starting this week. The protest in front of the Jamsil vote counting center, now in its 11th day, saw a large turnout of people in their 20s and 30s over the weekend.

Reporter Bae Sung-jae has the story.

[Reporter]

The joint investigation team has concluded its three-day search and seizure of the NEC servers and has been accelerating the analysis of the seized materials since yesterday (June 14).

The seized items include internal NEC messenger logs and approval records. Investigators are focusing on the decision-making process and the subsequent response measures taken before and after the ballot paper shortage occurred.

Based on the analysis of these materials, the joint investigation team plans to summon NEC working-level staff as witnesses within this week.

Meanwhile, the blockade protest at the Jamsil vote counting center is showing signs of becoming prolonged, having continued for over ten days.

According to real-time data from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, more than 24,000 people gathered at 5:00 PM yesterday, a figure that appears to include a significant number of concertgoers from a nearby K-pop venue.

Over the weekend, there was an increase in the number of citizens in their 20s and 30s, as well as families, who were not seen during weekday protests.

[Kwon Ha-rin, Kim I-re / Suwon, Gyeonggi Province: The process, which should have been fair, was not. As parents, this situation is very regrettable, so we came to speak out with our children...]

[Jo Hee-cheon, Jeon Seol-hee, Jo Eun-seo, Jo Min-seo: The issues that occurred this time need to be thoroughly examined fairly and explained clearly to the public.]

However, slogans calling for "election fraud" alongside those for a "re-election" have appeared, and many participants were seen carrying both the South Korean and U.S. flags.

The police, anticipating that the protests will be prolonged, have stated that while they will guarantee peaceful demonstrations, they will respond strictly to individual illegal acts.

In particular, authorities are considering summoning a woman identified as having participated in the unauthorized search of luggage belonging to the women's junior national handball team sometime this week.

(Video by Kim Seung-tae)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.