Officials from the South Gyeongsang Province branch of the National Election Commission in Changwon city inspect footage from illegal surveillance cameras installed inside polling stations, Wednesday. (Courtesy of the South Gyeongsang Province branch of the NEC)
South Korean authorities have found illegal spycams at polling stations across the country for the upcoming parliamentary election, with a local YouTuber under investigation on charges of installing some of them.
Nonhyeon Police Station in Incheon said Friday that the suspect in his 40s is believed to have installed the cameras inside nine polling stations in Incheon and the South Gyeongsang Province city of Yangsan. Police apprehended the suspect on Thursday, based on the surveillance footage at the polling stations.
The suspect runs a far-right political YouTube channel, through which he has raised suspicions of vote rigging. He told police that he "wanted to check if the election commission rigs the voting results."
Officials are investigating to see if he had any accomplices. They are also checking if he installed illegal cameras at any other polling stations, based on his claim to have installed such cameras at dozens of stations across the country.
In light of the incident, the Ministry of Interior and Safety on Thursday instructed regional governments to conduct inspections of the polling stations. Officials in Incheon and Yangsang found additional cameras installed at polling stations, and are investigating to determine whom installed them.
Early voting will be held at polling stations nationwide April 5-6 between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m for the country's April 10 general election.
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