Noh Tae-ak Reported for 'Embezzlement'; Parliamentary Probe into 'Ballot Shortage' Begins

[Anchor]

We exclusively reported the day before yesterday that former National Election Commission (NEC) Chairperson Noh Tae-ak went on three overseas business trips accompanied by his spouse using state funds, and that the NEC omitted this fact from publicly disclosed reports. The People Power Party has decided to file a complaint against former Chairperson Noh on charges of occupational embezzlement. Meanwhile, the National Assembly's parliamentary investigation into the ballot shortage incident began yesterday (June 18).

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the story.

[Reporter]

The fact that former NEC Chairperson Noh Tae-ak was accompanied by his spouse on all three of his overseas business trips during his tenure was first revealed through an SBS report.

State budget funds were used for the spouse's airfare and accommodation, yet the NEC did not disclose the "spouse accompaniment" in its public reports.

The People Power Party announced that it would file a complaint against former Chairperson Noh with the joint investigation team of the prosecution and police on charges of occupational embezzlement.

Even within the Democratic Party, criticism emerged that such "spouse-accompanied trips" are difficult to understand.

[Park Jie-won/Democratic Party Lawmaker (KBS Radio 'Jeongyeok Sisa'): Wasn't he a respected Supreme Court Justice? At the very least, if he had said he paid for his wife's expenses himself... it is completely incomprehensible.]

The National Assembly's Special Committee on the Parliamentary Investigation, which will look into the ballot shortage incident during the June 3 local elections, began its 45-day operation yesterday.

At the first plenary meeting held yesterday, the committee appointed People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Sang-hyun as chairperson and finalized the scope of the investigation.

The special committee plans to focus on the specific circumstances that led to the suspension of voting due to the failure to supply ballots on time, as well as the decision-making process that allowed the use of "unnumbered ballots" that lacked serial numbers.

Reported by Kim Kwan-jin | Video by Lee Seung-hwan | Video Editing by Jang Hyun-ki
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.