Noh Jeong-hee, chief of the National Election Commission, attends an emergency meeting at the government complex in Gwacheon, just south of Seoul, on Monday, to discuss measures to ensure ballots of COVID-19 patients are dealt with properly after a mishandling of such votes during early voting for the March 9 presidential election sparked widespread complaints of foul play. (Yonhap)

Civic groups have filed complaints against top officials of the National Election Commission (NEC) over their alleged mishandling of the early voting for the March 9 presidential election among COVID-19 patients last week.

The election watchdog came under fire over the weekend following revelations that virus patients were not allowed to put their votes into ballot boxes, and election officials instead collected them in plastic bags and other unofficial containers during the early voting for infected voters on Saturday.

Some voters raised suspicions of election rigging, but the NEC has flatly rejected the claims.

According to legal sources, a civic group on Monday filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors Office against NEC Chairperson Noh Jeong-hee, Kim Se-hwan, director general of the NEC secretariat, and other commission officials for their alleged neglect of duty and violation of public official election laws.

The group claimed the NEC's handling of the early voting was "shockingly poor" and "unseen even in underdeveloped countries," and demanded that Noh be investigated.

A separate civic group also filed a similar complaint on Sunday.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors Office is expected to launch an investigation after Wednesday's election. (Yonhap)