Trial of Kim Gi-hyeon as witness in 'Cheongwadae Ulsan Mayor Election Interference' case... 22 months after indictment

Defendants attending the first formal trial of the 'Cheongwadae Ulsan Mayor Election Interference' case at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul, on May 10. From the left, clockwise: Song Cheol-ho, Mayor of Ulsan; Lee Jin-seok, Director of the Cheongwadae Office of National Affairs; Han Byung-do, former Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at Cheongwadae; Baek Won-woo, former Secretary for Civil Affairs at Cheongwadae; Park Hyung-chul, former Secretary for Anti-Corruption at Cheongwadae; Hwang Un-ha, member of the Democratic Party of Korea.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Kim Ki-hyun, the floor leader of the People Power Party and former mayor of Ulsan, who is both the accuser and victim in the 'Blue House Ulsan mayoral election interference and directed investigation' case, will appear as a witness on the 15th.

This comes 22 months after related figures including Song Cheol-ho, mayor of Ulsan, and Hwang Un-ha, member of the Democratic Party of Korea and former chief of the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency, were brought to trial on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act last January.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-3 (Presiding Judges Jang Yong-beom, Ma Seong-young, Kim Sang-yeon) will hold a trial on the same day for Mayor Song and Assemblyman Hwang, who were indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, and conduct witness examinations of Floor Leader Kim and his former secretary-general during his tenure as Ulsan mayor, Mr. Park. The examination of Mr. Park is scheduled from 10 a.m., followed by Floor Leader Kim's examination from 2 p.m.

Floor Leader Kim claimed that ahead of the June 13, 2018 local elections during his tenure as Ulsan mayor, the Blue House committed various illegal and illicit acts to help the election of Mayor Song, who is a longtime friend of President Moon Jae-in.

The Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, which investigated the case, indicted 13 people last January, including Mayor Song, Assemblyman Hwang, former Ulsan Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs Song Byung-gi, former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Baek Won-woo, former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyung-cheol, former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Han Byung-do, and former administrative officer Moon from the Civil Affairs Secretary's Office.

The prosecution concluded that Mayor Song requested Assemblyman Hwang, then chief of the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency in September 2017, to investigate Floor Leader Kim, and former Deputy Mayor Song instructed former administrative officer Moon in October of the same year to provide information on Floor Leader Kim's misconduct and prepare a criminal intelligence report. This document was passed through former Secretary Baek and former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park before being delivered to the police headquarters and then to the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency, according to the prosecution's investigation. Furthermore, the Blue House was regularly briefed on and managed the progress of this 'directed investigation,' concluding that it influenced the election.

The prosecution also viewed that Blue House personnel from senior secretaries to administrative officers provided internal information from central and local governments to Mayor Song, assisting in the formulation of his election pledges.

Former Senior Secretary Han was indicted on charges of offering a public office to former Democratic Party Supreme Council member Lim Dong-ho, a rival in Mayor Song's party primary, in exchange for withdrawing from the primary.

In April, the prosecution indicted Lee Jin-seok, head of the Blue House National Situation Room, for violating the Public Official Election Act, but decided not to prosecute former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Cho Kuk, former Blue House Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Lee Kwang-cheol, and former Blue House Chief of Staff Lim Jong-seok, who were suspected of involvement in the 'directed investigation' allegations or pressuring Lim to resign. Complaints related to President Moon and former Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae were dismissed.

In that election, Floor Leader Kim was defeated by Mayor Song but was elected as a member of the National Assembly for Ulsan Nam-gu in last year's general election. Assemblyman Hwang was also elected as a Democratic Party candidate in Daejeon Jung-gu.

At the first formal trial held in May, the prosecution emphasized, "This case is a serious crime that severely distorts the will of the people," calling it a "comprehensive case of election fraud."

On the other hand, Mayor Song's side denied the charges, stating, "Although I met and had a meal with Hwang Un-ha, then chief of the Ulsan Police Agency, I never requested an investigation into former Mayor Kim Ki-hyun." Assemblyman Hwang also rebutted, saying, "I never received a request for a targeted investigation, and the investigation was legitimate."

Even after the indictment, the trial was delayed due to additional investigations by the prosecution and restrictions on access to investigation records citing these investigations. In particular, controversy arose over whether Judge Kim Mi-ri, who initially handled the case, deliberately delayed the trial by conducting the pretrial preparation hearing for over a year.

Chief Justice Kim Myung-soo broke the convention of not serving more than three years at the Seoul Central District Court and retained Judge Kim for a fourth year in the regular personnel reshuffle in February this year. However, after the Criminal Division 21 was reorganized into a collegial panel where three chief judges share the roles of presiding judge and lead judge depending on the case, Judge Kim submitted a leave of absence in April due to health reasons and took a three-month medical leave, with Chief Judge Ma Seong-young appointed as his successor.

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