Court issues warrant to arrest man suspected of installing spy cameras at voting stations

A local court on Sunday issued a warrant to arrest a YouTuber suspected of installing spy cameras at some 40 early voting stations ahead of the April 10 general elections.

The Incheon District Court issued the arrest warrant for the man in his 40s on charges of trespassing in a structure without permission and violating the law on the protection of communication secrets. The court cited the risk of him fleeing and destroying evidence.

The suspect allegedly placed hidden cameras at about 40 early polling stations in major cities, including Seoul, Busan, Incheon, Ulsan and Daegu.

When asked by reporters about the motive of his act, the suspect said "I wanted to check early voters. There are doubts that (the outcome of) early voting was very different from that of main voting."

The suspect reportedly told police that he wanted to monitor the National Election Commission's manipulation of turnout rates for early voting.

The man is also under suspicion of having installed hidden cameras in polling stations during the 2022 presidential election and the by-election for the mayorship of Gangseo District in Seoul in October, according to officials.

Police said they are looking into whether there are additional hidden cameras installed in other polling stations.

Early voting for the upcoming elections is slated for April 5-6. (Yonhap)