Prosecution summons and questions former Chief of Staff to Party Leader Chu Mi-ae over 'Blue House-Song Cheol-ho connection'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating allegations of the Blue House and police interfering in the Ulsan local elections and conducting politically motivated investigations is examining the role played by the Democratic Party of Korea's central party in Mayor Song Cheol-ho's pledge formulation and sole nomination process.

According to the legal community on the 3rd, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun) summoned Jeong Mo (53), a former deputy chief of staff of the secretariat when Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae was the leader of the Democratic Party, as a witness for questioning the day before.

The prosecution reportedly asked Jeong whether, while working in the party leader's secretariat, he arranged meetings between Mayor Song's side and Blue House officials, and whether other party members were involved in the process. This investigation was based on contents found in the work notebook of Song Byeong-gi, Ulsan City's Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs. According to the notebook, in January 2018, Mayor Song and Jang Hwan-seok, then Senior Administrative Officer of the Balanced Development Secretariat, met at a restaurant near the Blue House.

The prosecution is focusing on the fact that discussions about pledges such as the establishment of a public hospital took place between Mayor Song and Administrative Officer Jeong at that time, viewing this as one of the circumstances supporting suspicions that the Blue House improperly interfered in the local elections.

Jeong was recruited as a political special advisor to the Song Cheol-ho campaign in May 2018. In April of that year, Mayor Song was nominated as the Ulsan mayoral candidate without a primary, surpassing former Supreme Council member Im Dong-ho. The prosecution believes that the Blue House and the Democratic Party helped the election of Mayor Song, a friend of President Moon Jae-in.

The Liberty Korea Party filed a complaint with the prosecution on the 1st, accusing Minister Choo, who was the party leader during the local elections, of leaking official secrets and violating the Public Official Election Act.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.