A man in his 40s who installed illegal cameras at early voting stations for the April 10 general election was arrested by the police. It was confirmed that this YouTuber also installed cameras inside early voting stations during the Seoul Gangseo District Mayor by-election last year.
On the 29th, the Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon announced that they had arrested and were investigating a man in his 40s, identified as Mr. A, on charges of trespassing and violating the Communications Privacy Protection Act. Mr. A is suspected of secretly breaking into a total of five early voting stations at administrative welfare centers in Namdong-gu and Gyeyang-gu, Incheon, and installing illegal cameras.
The centers where camera installations were confirmed include two locations in Jangsu and Seochang-dong, Seochang 2-dong in Namdong-gu, and three locations in Gyesan 1, 2, and 4-dong in Gyeyang-gu. All cameras were reportedly installed near water dispensers or similar spots to film inside the voting stations.
The police are expanding their investigation, suspecting that Mr. A installed cameras not only at the five locations in Incheon but also at early voting stations in other regions such as Yangsan, Gyeongnam. Previously, suspicious camera-like objects were found at four early voting stations in Yangsan, Gyeongnam.
After receiving reports of illegal camera installations and reviewing CCTV footage, the police apprehended Mr. A at his home in Goyang-si, Gyeonggi Province, around 9:10 p.m. the previous day. Mr. A, who is active as a YouTuber, claimed to the police that he intended to monitor the election commission’s manipulation of early voting rates.
Earlier, the Ministry of the Interior and Safety ordered an urgent inspection of early voting stations nationwide after illegal cameras were found at some administrative welfare centers designated as early voting stations.
Meanwhile, it was revealed that Mr. A filmed the interior of a specific early voting station during the Gangseo District Mayor by-election in October last year and broadcasted it on YouTube. Mr. A claimed that there was a discrepancy between the number of votes announced by the election commission and the number of voters shown in the footage from the cameras he installed.
He said, "I trained rigorously in Jirisan for four years since the 2020 general election to film early voting. After extensive research and training on how to overcome the election commission’s interference, I finally figured out how to film."
He added, "After counting all the people in the footage I filmed, there is a difference of 200 voters between the actual number of voters at a specific early voting station and the number announced by the election commission. They pre-made manipulated ballots and fabricated numbers, causing the discrepancy."
At the time, he also posted footage of himself filing a criminal investigation request with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office online, while claiming election fraud.
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