Handuksoo: "Strengthening Security During Election Campaign... Zero Tolerance for Violence"

Meeting of Relevant Ministers Supporting National Assembly Election
Han Deok-su "Prosecutors and Police Must Strictly Respond to Election Crimes"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo emphasized, "To ensure safe election campaigning during the election period, we have strengthened election security capabilities centered on the police," adding, "In particular, we will strictly respond with a zero-tolerance policy toward any violent acts during the election campaign."

On the morning of the 28th, Prime Minister Han made these remarks while presiding over the 'Meeting of Relevant Ministers Supporting the 22nd National Assembly Election' at the Government Complex Sejong.

Prime Minister Han explained, "So far, the government has worked with the National Election Commission to prepare measures for fair and transparent elections," and added, "We have strengthened the early voting management system by publicly displaying CCTV footage of early voting ballot storage locations 24 hours a day and having the police escort early voting ballots during transportation."

He continued, "We have added a manual ballot verification procedure where all ballots are directly checked by hand during the voting and counting process, and enhanced security for the computer systems to eliminate hacking risks," and stated, "The government will do its utmost to provide human and material support to ensure these improvements are properly implemented."

To this end, the government plans to significantly increase the number of personnel, including central, local, and educational officials, involved in voting and counting management compared to previous years. The government expects this to greatly enhance the objectivity and reliability of voting and counting management.

Prime Minister Han pledged to strengthen election security capabilities during the election campaign period and respond strictly to violent acts, urging, "Relevant ministries should carry out election management and support duties with a greater sense of responsibility than ever before, ensuring no negligence."

He also requested, "The prosecution and police should thoroughly crack down on election crimes that undermine fair elections in close cooperation with the Election Commission and handle them strictly according to law and principles," and added, "Please establish a system to thoroughly analyze and respond to new types of illegal or evasive cases from the preparation stage."

He emphasized, "All public officials should be especially mindful of their political neutrality obligations and be careful in their words and actions to avoid any political misunderstandings."