Gyeonggi Election Commission officials sent to prosecutors over manipulated interview scores

Two officials from the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission have been referred to prosecutors for allegedly manipulating interview scores during a recruitment process for experienced hires. The officials, identified by the initial 'A', are accused of arbitrarily altering score sheets submitted by external interviewers in 2021.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Police Agency's Anti-Corruption and Economic Crime Investigation Unit reported on June 16 that the officials face charges including obstruction of official duties by deceit, violation of the State Public Officials Act, and forgery and use of private documents and electronic records. Police stated that the score modifications were made to reduce the variance between scores given by different external interviewers.

During the investigation, the officials reportedly claimed that post-adjustment was necessary to minimize score differences among external interviewers, admitting to altering scores but denying intentional wrongdoing. However, police investigations, including a search and seizure of the Gyeonggi Election Commission, did not find evidence of candidates being disadvantaged by the changes or any connections between successful candidates and commission staff.

The investigation initially began in March 2023 following a request from the National Election Commission regarding suspicions of preferential hiring for children of high-ranking officials. However, police halted that broader investigation to avoid overlapping with audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission, as well as a separate prosecution inquiry into similar allegations. The current case against the Gyeonggi officials focuses specifically on the score manipulation, separate from the broader preferential hiring allegations.

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External interviewers' scores needed post-adjustment to reduce score discrepancies.