Images show closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) being covered at early voting stations for the June 3 local elections and National Assembly by-elections. [Photo provided by Freedom and Innovation]  

At early voting stations for the 9th National Simultaneous Local Elections (June 3 Local Elections) and National Assembly by-elections, closed-circuit televisions (CCTV) were seen being covered in various locations. 

According to photographic evidence compiled and released by the Freedom and Innovation Party and the Korea-US Joint Election Fraud Investigation Team on the 3rd, CCTVs installed at early voting stations on the 29th of last month were found to be covered with paper and other materials. 

In Hoehyeon-dong, Jung-gu, Seoul, a CCTV installed on the ceiling of an early voting station was covered by an envelope, while at an early voting station in Gaepo 1-dong, Gangnam-gu, a CCTV attached to the wall was also covered with paper. 

These CCTVs do not record the voting booth. They record the lobby outside the voting booth or the area where voters are waiting. 

Article 166-2, Paragraph 1 of the Public Official Election Act prohibits filming of ballots within the voting booth. Election authorities are creating controversy by covering existing CCTVs, which are installed in public institutions such as administrative welfare centers or community centers used as polling stations, in areas where ballots are not exposed. 

The Korea-US Joint Election Fraud Investigation Team observes the early voting process at the Pyeongtaek Administrative Welfare Center in Gyeonggi Province on the 29th of last month. From left: Dr. Douglas G. Frank, lawyer Joo-hyun Park, former US Ambassador for International Criminal Justice Morse H. Tan (Korean name: Dan Hyun-myeong), and Freedom and Innovation Party Supreme Council member Sang-hyun Kim. [Photo by reporter Heo Gyeom]

Additionally, there have been controversies regarding the obstruction of video recording by observers at the vote counting stations. 

A notice posted at an early voting station titled "Guidelines for Observing Vote Counting" stated, "Any disturbance to the vote counting process, such as video recording or disruptive behavior, may result in expulsion." 

A representative from the Freedom and Innovation Party pointed out, "CCTVs at early voting stations were covered in this election as well, and video recording is prohibited during vote counting observation. Although video recording by observers at vote counting stations (not at polling stations) is legally permitted, they are preventing observers from recording." 

The representative added, "They are covering CCTVs that could accurately verify the number of early voters, and at the vote counting centers, they are preventing the filming of ballots that are subject to suspicion of being fake. What is the Election Commission afraid of and trying to hide? The one who hides is the culprit, and it is time for the citizens, the rightful owners, to rise up and protect their sovereignty." 

The issue of election authorities inexplicably covering CCTVs at early voting stations, along with controversies about inflating early vote counts, is not a new problem. 

During the 22nd National Assembly election in April 2024, numerous instances of CCTVs being covered with paper were reported, sparking controversy. 

At the time, former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn stated, "The Election Commission is prohibiting CCTV recording at early voting stations in this general election, following the 21st National Assembly election in 2020. However, during the April 15 general election, there was no directive from the Election Commission to cover CCTVs at polling stations on election day, nor did the Election Commission cover the CCTVs themselves." 

He further argued, "It is illogical that filming is exclusively blocked at early voting stations while filming at polling stations on election day is permitted. CCTV does not violate the principle of secret ballots by recording voters marking their ballots; it merely records who has entered and exited the polling station. It is completely incomprehensible why the Election Commission is so vehemently preventing this."