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[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Shin Dong-ho] Employees have voluntarily written petitions seeking leniency for the current local government head, who is on trial for allegations of accepting bribes.

It is considered highly unusual that employees have taken action on behalf of a local government head with only one year left in office ahead of next year's local elections.

According to Seo-gu, Gwangju Metropolitan City, on the 9th, a petition consent list asking for leniency for Seo Dae-seok, the district head, recently circulated among some departments.

The petition begins with the statement, "We are employees working at Seo-gu Office, and we write this to express our collective wish for tolerance and leniency toward Seo Dae-seok, Seo-gu district head."

It states that Seo has brought remarkable changes not only within the public service community but also in the local society, and has earned the full trust of employees through fair administration.

It also mentions that in this severe situation due to COVID-19, Seo’s role is very important as he has been attentively managing both quarantine measures and local issues, and that he is performing this role well.

The petition was posted on an anonymous free bulletin board within Seo-gu Office, sparking a voluntary movement for petition signatures.

Currently, it is known that a significant number of Seo-gu public officials have participated in signing the petition.

After the consent list appeared, the petition was drafted based on it, but Seo-gu officials explained that they are still considering whether to actually submit it to the court.

A similar movement occurred during the first trial, but Seo himself intervened to discourage it.

They also denied allegations that there was any coercion involved in obtaining signatures.

A Seo-gu public official said, "The petition started as a voluntary movement, and there was absolutely no coercion from senior officials or colleagues regarding signing. It shows the employees’ trust in Seo."

Another public official said, "It is very unusual to see employees voluntarily unite and take action for a district head with only about one year left in office. It shows how much the employees trust Seo."

Meanwhile, Seo Dae-seok, Seo-gu district head, was indicted on charges including violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act due to allegations of personal misconduct before his tenure and is currently undergoing an appellate trial.

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