Prosecutors Summon Former Senior Secretary Han Byung-do as Suspect in 'Election Interference Allegations'

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The prosecution investigating allegations of election interference in the Ulsan mayoral race by the Blue House and the Democratic Party of Korea summoned Han Byung-do (53), then Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House, for questioning.

According to the prosecution and legal circles on the 7th, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun) summoned former Senior Secretary Han on the 3rd as a suspect for violating the Public Official Election Act and questioned him about the circumstances under which he offered the position of Consul General in Kobe, Japan, to former Democratic Party Supreme Council member Lim Dong-ho (52) ahead of the local elections.

Former Senior Secretary Han is suspected of interfering in the Democratic Party's Ulsan mayoral primary during the June 13, 2018 local elections. Prosecutors suspect that although former Council member Lim declared his candidacy for Ulsan mayor in February last year, Han urged him to withdraw from the primary by mentioning the Kobe Consul General position during the process in which current Mayor Song Cheol-ho received the Democratic Party's sole nomination.

When the allegations first surfaced, former Council member Lim admitted the candidate bribery suspicion in a media interview by stating, "Former Senior Secretary Han encouraged me not to run in the Ulsan mayoral primary and suggested 'another position' such as the Kobe Consul General," but later retracted his statement. On the 19th of last month, while going to the prosecution for questioning, he said, "Senior Secretary Han Byung-do once said, 'Do you really have to go to Osaka?' and asked, 'How about Kobe?' but that was just a conversation between friends." Former Senior Secretary Han is also reported to have given a similar explanation to the prosecution.

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