'Violation of Election Law' Oh Se-hoon "Protesting Illegal Police Investigation Related to Pie City... Suspecting Blue House Directed Investigation"

Unexpected Press Conference Held to State Position... "Police's Witness Investigation on the 3rd Violates Criminal Procedure Law" Claim
"Police Overinvestigation, Alleged Blue House-Ordered Planned Inspection"... "Will Hold Those Involved in Illegal Investigation Legally Responsible"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who is under investigation for alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act related to the 'Pi City project' permits, has claimed that the police conducting searches and witness interviews last month are "carrying out illegal and excessive investigations." He particularly suspected that the police's excessive investigation is a planned inspection directed by the Blue House and demanded an explanation.

On the 6th, Mayor Oh held an unscheduled press conference titled "Statement on Police Investigation Following Seoul City Search" and stated, "What is the intention of the public security police who carried out illegal investigations in violation of the Criminal Procedure Act and the Criminal Investigation Rules?" He did not take any questions after the statement.

Regarding the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency summoning an employee who worked on the Pi City permit at a coffee shop inside Mapo District Office for a one-hour witness interview on the 3rd, Mayor Oh claimed that the police violated the witness interview regulations under the Criminal Procedure Act.

He pointed out, "The police violated all the witness interview regulations under Article 221 of our Criminal Procedure Act during the witness interview," adding, "They did not follow the procedures of issuing a witness attendance request, obtaining consent, video recording, preparing, reviewing, and signing the statement for the public official who was interviewed."

The public official who was interviewed reportedly answered that they did not report to the mayor regarding the Pi City permit. In response, Mayor Oh said, "When favorable testimony was given, the investigation was concluded without following the legally prescribed procedures," and "The police neither recorded the testimony nor followed the procedure to review the statement documenting the investigation process."

Furthermore, he demanded an explanation, stating that the police's excessive investigation could not have been conducted without orders from the Blue House. He said, "Why was the statement of the witness who did not testify in the intended direction of the investigation not recorded, despite excessive searches?" and "Such excessive illegal investigations cannot occur without orders from the Blue House." He added, "As a democratically elected mayor chosen by 10 million citizens, I will never tolerate illegal investigations involving government power and will hold those responsible for illegal investigations legally accountable."

Earlier, in an April debate as a Seoul mayoral candidate, Oh was accused by civic groups of false information disclosure for stating that the Pi City permit case was not related to the Seoul City during his tenure. Subsequently, the Anti-Corruption Public Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency conducted a search of Seoul City-related departments on the 31st of last month.

The Pi City project is a large-scale development involving an investment of 2.4 trillion won to build a complex distribution center on a site in Yangjae-dong, Seocho District, Seoul. Pi City was the project operator at the time but entered corporate rehabilitation proceedings due to suspension of project financing (PF) repayments. Subsequently, related parties were arrested amid allegations of preferential corruption.

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