Anchor: Police have launched an investigation into allegations the National Intelligence Service tried to interfere in the 2023 by-election for chief of Seoul’s Gangseo District. Police said it’s already gathered materials related to the case from the spy agency and banned one of its former directors, Kim Kyu-hyun, from leaving the country.
Rosyn Park has the story.

Report: The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency revealed on Friday that the National Intelligence Service(NIS) voluntarily submitted materials to its anti-corruption investigation team after a search and seizure warrant was presented to it earlier this month.

Police are looking into allegations that the spy agency attempted to intervene in the 2023 by-election to elect a new chief for the city’s western Gangseo District.

At the time, the NIS announced on the eve of the election that “hacking vulnerabilities” had been found in the National Election Commission’s(NEC) voting and ballot-counting systems.

After it was confirmed the Democratic Party’s(DP) candidate had won the race, some within the People Power Party questioned the validity of the vote, citing the NIS report and suggesting hackers may have infiltrated the NEC’s network.

But the NEC argued that it was impossible to manipulate the election results, while the DP raised concerns about the NIS and accused it of political meddling.

Controversy over the case resurfaced in October last year when DP Rep. Park Sun-won, a member of the National Assembly’s Intelligence Committee and a former NIS official, said he’d filed criminal complaints against Kim Kyu-hyun, who led the NIS in 2023, and others, accusing them of election interference.

Kim and the other suspects face various allegations, including abuse of authority, and Kim has also been banned from leaving the country.

Police said after they analyze evidence taken from the NIS, they will call in suspects for questioning.
Rosyn Park, KBS World Radio News.