Kim Yongbin, Secretary General of the Election Commission, Dismisses Possibility of Election Fraud
Baek Jongwook, Former Third Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, Avoids Commenting on Election Fraud
At the 7th hearing of the Constitutional Court impeachment trial, a fierce exchange took place between the National Assembly and President Yoon's side over the 'election fraud allegations,' one of the reasons cited by President Yoon for the declaration of the emergency martial law on December 3rd. However, no testimony supporting the allegations emerged. Kim Yong-bin, Secretary General of the Central Election Commission, who appeared as a witness for the National Assembly, repeatedly emphasized throughout the examination that there was no possibility of election fraud. Meanwhile, Baek Jong-wook, former 3rd Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service and a witness for President Yoon, acknowledged issues with the election commission's computer system but avoided direct comments on the election fraud allegations.
At the hearing held on the 11th in the Constitutional Court's grand courtroom, Secretary General Kim systematically refuted questions from President Yoon's side that were based on the premise of election fraud. When asked by the National Assembly whether any fake ballots had been found during the recount of the 21st National Assembly election, he replied, "To my knowledge, none have been reported." When asked if voting and counting were conducted with physical ballots and manual public counting, with electronic devices only assisting, he answered "Yes." This underscored that South Korea's voting and counting system is not lacking in preventing hacking. This was consistent with his earlier statements during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee field inquiry.
Regarding the National Intelligence Service's security inspection result, which President Yoon's side has consistently claimed showed that the election commission system passwords were simple, Kim stated that all concerns had been resolved. He said, "The election commission accepted the consulting results and changed all system passwords to a secure method," adding, "The 22nd National Assembly election was held under these improved conditions."
Baek, a witness for President Yoon, partially acknowledged vulnerabilities in the election commission system but avoided direct answers regarding the election fraud allegations. In response to questions about the 2023 comprehensive system inspection of the election commission, he testified, "There were several vulnerabilities," and "There were connection points linking the internet, business network, and election network, which should be operated independently, allowing possible external intrusion."
However, when asked by the National Assembly whether the possibility of hacking would require much more stringent conditions to equate to election fraud, Baek dismissed the question, saying, "Since this is beyond what we examined, I will not comment on election fraud." When asked if any traces of intrusion were found in the election system, he testified, "None were found within the 5% that was inspected." The National Intelligence Service inspected about 5% of the total equipment.
At the 5th hearing, President Yoon, who appeared in person, reiterated the election fraud allegations and admitted, "It was I who told Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun to send troops to the election commission." Meanwhile, President Yoon arrived at the Constitutional Court at 9 a.m., attended the hearing from its start at 10 a.m., and continued to speak in the courtroom but left at 4:25 p.m. before Baek's witness examination. President Yoon departed the court at 6:18 p.m. in a Ministry of Justice escort vehicle. Notably, he did not participate in the witness examinations of Baek and Secretary General Kim, which were central to the election fraud allegations.
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