'Term Nearing End'... What Has the Ulsan Mayor Case Been Doing for a Year?

Preparation Hearing Scheduled for the 25th
High Possibility of Judge Transfer
Formal Trial Expected No Earlier Than March

Investigation Team Disbanded, No Further Investigation Possible
Public Corruption Investigation Office Also Cautious About Referral

Song Cheol-ho, Mayor of Ulsan [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The clock on the Blue House’s interference in the Ulsan mayoral election case has been stopped for a year. Since indicting 13 key figures from the ruling party, including Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho and former and current Blue House officials, in January last year, the case has been going in circles. The trial has stalled, and the investigation team was disbanded. The High-ranking Officials’ Crime Investigation Division (Gongsoocheo), expected to take over, has shown caution about the possibility of taking over the investigation after its launch. There are growing concerns that uncovering the substantive truth is effectively “out of reach.”

According to the legal community on the 20th, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21 (Presiding Judge Kim Miri) will hold the sixth pretrial conference for this case on the 25th. A pretrial conference is a procedure where the court, prosecution, and defense organize issues and sift through necessary evidence before the formal trial. Since the first pretrial conference in April last year, only the parties’ plans for evidence presentation have been heard, wasting a whole year. The legal community has said this is a “trial that is hard to find precedent for and hard to see again.”

Even if the hearing on the 25th is the last pretrial conference, the formal trial will likely not be possible until around March. Presiding Judge Kim is expected to be transferred after completing three years of service at the Seoul Central District Court. If the trial team changes, reviewing the records will require more time. This is why the legal community says, “The defendants indicted before the Ulsan mayoral trial ends will serve out their terms as mayor and as members of the National Assembly.”

There is no timetable for additional investigations. The Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office (then Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun) indicted 13 people including Mayor Song last year but excluded Presidential Secretary for Civil Affairs Lee Kwang-cheol and former Presidential Secretary Im Jong-seok from prosecution, citing concerns about influencing the April 15 general election. However, the investigation team scattered after personnel reshuffles following the appointment of Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae. It effectively followed the path of disbandment.

The Gongsoocheo, expected to continue the investigation, is also facing difficulties. Even candidate Kim Jin-wook, who is likely to become the first Gongsoocheo chief, shows lukewarm willingness to investigate. At a confirmation hearing the day before, when asked whether the Ulsan mayoral election interference case would be transferred to Gongsoocheo, Kim avoided a direct answer, saying, “Gongsoocheo cannot handle everything.”

Even if the investigation resumes, it is expected to be difficult to thoroughly uncover the involvement of the Blue House’s upper echelons. A legal insider said, “Disbanding the existing investigation team was like removing burning firewood from a blazing fire,” adding, “It will take a lot of time for another investigation team to come and get back on the existing track, and it is practically impossible.”

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