Controversy over election security in South Korea is intensifying, with only six months remaining until the next general election. As more facts about a security investigation of election systems emerge from a government audit undertaken by the National Assembly, the power struggle between South Korea’s electoral regulator and the national security watchdog continues to escalate.
The conflict between the two authorities is sowing seeds of doubt about the reliability of the election system among voters, raising questions even over the intelligence agency’s possible motives for raising such hot-button issues so close to voting day.
On November 1, members of the Intelligence Committee of the National Assembly debated the clamorous and high-profile security inspection of the National Election Commission, which was conducted by the National Intelligence Service (NIS) during an annual audit of state affairs held in a closed meeting at the NIS office.
Specifically, the national representatives argued over the legitimacy of the security inspection tools the NIS had applied to the internal systems of the National Election Commission in order to conduct their inspection. Yoo Sang-bum of the ruling party spoke on behalf of the NIS and explained that the tools are nothing nefarious but are merely devices commonly used to conduct such inspections.
Conversely, Youn Kun-young of the opposition party asserted that, of the 84 security tools confirmed to have been installed by the NIS, a number of them currently remain operational in the internal systems of the National Election Commission. Referring to the remaining devices as “hacking tools,” Youn refuted the claim made by the NIS that the election authority was “uncooperative” in complying with their request for inspections.
Following an audit briefing, the NIS informed the press that their security inspection tools were neither malicious nor even unusual. Rather, they explained that they were software of the kind typically employed by cybersecurity firms and white-hat hackers.
The National Election Security Commission faced severe criticism earlier this year after it was revealed that, over the past two years, they ignored eight security warnings from the intelligence agency regarding seven hacking attempts out of North Korea. In response, the NIS launched an investigation of the commission, a probe which lasted from July 17 to September 22. In a briefing on the results of the investigation, the NIS remarked that the internal systems of the National Election Commission were indeed vulnerable to cyberattacks.
South Korea’s general election, which allocates 300 national representatives to four-year-terms, is scheduled to occur in April of next year.
