Song Cheol-ho and Han Byung-do in court after 1 year 4 months... First trial today on 'Cheong election interference'

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] Song Cheol-ho, mayor of Ulsan, and Han Byung-do, former senior secretary for political affairs at the Blue House, who were indicted in January last year on suspicion of interfering in the Ulsan mayoral election, will appear in court for the first time on the 10th. It has been 1 year and 4 months since the indictment.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-3 (Presiding Judge Jang Yong-beom) will hold the first trial in the afternoon for Song and other current and former Ulsan city officials, as well as former Blue House officials including Han, who were indicted on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act. The case involves allegations that ahead of the 2018 local elections, the Blue House ordered the police to conduct a directed investigation to help Song’s election, committing various illegal and illicit acts. Song is known as a close friend of President Moon Jae-in for 30 years.

All 15 defendants, including Mayor Song, are required to appear in court for this trial. In previous preparatory hearings, the defendants were not obligated to attend, so Song and others did not appear in court.

The case was indicted in January last year, but due to issues such as the defendants’ access to investigation records and ongoing prosecution investigations, only preparatory hearings were held six times until the preparation process was completed last March. The prosecution concluded the investigation last month by additionally indicting Lee Jin-seok, director of the Blue House National Situation Room, and Ulsan city official Yoon. The prosecution is expected to present the charges against Mayor Song and the other defendants on this day. The defendants will state their positions regarding the prosecution’s charges.

Chief Judge Kim Mi-ri, who presided over the trial from the first indictment last year and took the lead after the court’s regular personnel reshuffle in February this year, went on leave in mid-last month due to health reasons. Judge Ma Sung-young will take over her position.

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