Prosecutors probe public servants’ union over election meddling

The prosecution is accelerating its probe into a progressive public servants’ union on suspicion that its members illegally intervened in last year’s presidential election.

Investigators from the Seoul Southern District Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday raided the offices of a computer server provider to the Korean Government Employees’ Union to search for evidence of election law violations.

The prosecution’s sortie was the second following an unannounced visit by state investigators on Nov. 8 to the KGEU’s headquarters in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province.

Its members are said to have posted online comments in support of then opposition candidate Moon Jae-in despite laws forbidding public servants from participating in election campaigns.

The investigation came amid controversy over allegations that officials from state agencies including the National Intelligence Service engaged in Internet smear campaigns against Moon of the Democratic Party. The union and the DP have said the investigation into the union is intended to whitewash the NIS case.

The probe was prompted by a lawsuit by a rightist civic group, Young’s Liberty Union, filed last month against the KGEU and its head Kim Jung-nam. The group, which opposes “pro-North Korea leftist groups” according to its homepage, cited online comments posted in December 2012 on the KGEU homepage that supported Moon.

KGEU officials have fervently denied the allegations however, claiming that the online comments were posted by anonymous internet users not representing their organization. Prosecutors are attempting to ascertain whether the problematic comments were indeed posted by random online surfers or by government-employed officials.

The conservative civic group had only filed their lawsuit after the NIS, the military’s cyber warfare command, and the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs were being investigated on charges of election law violations.

By Jeong Hunny ()