'Former Secretary General Kim Ki-hyun, Witness in Ulsan Mayor Election Interference Trial, "Suspected Intent to Influence Election"'

Defendants attending the first formal trial of the 'Cheongwadae Ulsan Mayor Election Interference' case held on May 10 at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul. 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.

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] Kim Ki-hyun, the floor leader of the People Power Party (former Mayor of Ulsan), who is both the accuser and victim in the 'Blue House Ulsan Mayor Election Interference and Directed Investigation' case, will appear as a witness on the 15th.

It has been 22 months since 13 related individuals, including Song Cheol-ho, Mayor of Ulsan, and Hwang Un-ha, member of the Democratic Party of Korea (former Chief of Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency), were brought to trial on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act in January last year.

The Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21-3 (Presiding Judges Jang Yong-beom, Ma Seong-young, Kim Sang-yeon) held a trial from 10 a.m. on that day for Mayor Song and others indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act, and conducted witness examination of Park Mo, Kim’s secretary chief during his time as Ulsan Mayor. Park was investigated by the police in 2018 on charges of abuse of authority and bribery but was not prosecuted by the prosecution. The witness examination of Kim Ki-hyun himself is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. that day.

On that day, when asked by the prosecutor, "Did you know about the investigation of the witness before the search and seizure at Ulsan City Hall?" Park answered, "I had no knowledge at all."

When asked, "On March 16, 2018, when the Ulsan Police Agency searched the witness’s office, many media outlets reported that there was pressure to abuse authority in selecting a ready-mixed concrete company and to change the already selected company. What did you think about that?" he replied, "Only the secretary chief’s office was searched, but the charges against me were already reported in the media without any investigation or any facts occurring. It was an utterly absurd situation for me."

Park also revealed that during his second police investigation on April 23, 2018, he requested the police to inquire first about golf entertainment and was investigated accordingly. He said, "At that time, the police said I received golf entertainment worth 130,000 won from Kim Mo, so I asked if I played golf, and the police said no. Then I said, 'The date you mentioned was a weekend, and golf fees exceed 200,000 won. If you received entertainment worth 130,000 won, it doesn’t add up. Please check carefully,' but the police seemed to listen half-heartedly."

Regarding the police immediately applying for an arrest warrant during the second investigation, he said, "I did not expect it at all," and "when the arrest warrant was dismissed on May 4, the case was sent to the prosecution with an indictment opinion on May 18, and this was reported in detail by the media."

He continued, "I thought this was some kind of operation," and "There were various criminal facts that needed investigation, but there was no special investigation, and applying for a warrant immediately seemed strange. I thought there was an intention to influence the election."

When asked about the police investigation process of Ulsan City Hall officials who were witnesses at the time, Park answered, "When the investigators asked, it was in a coercive manner without presenting any evidence, such as 'Did Kim Ki-hyun give instructions?' I heard that the officials reported this to the city audit office."

When asked, "What did you think after receiving the prosecution’s non-indictment decision?" he replied, "During the police investigation, I said I had no authority and did not do such things, but the police pushed strongly without presenting any evidence. When I received the non-indictment after a year, I expected it, but everything was concluded, and I felt utterly empty. They investigated people with an 'if not, so be it' attitude, and it ended with non-indictment, which was very frustrating for me."

Regarding the question, "What damage did you suffer from the police investigation?" he said, "Since Mayor Kim Ki-hyun lost the Ulsan mayoral election, I also lost my job. There were various damages because media reports portrayed me as a bad person who abused authority, which stigmatized me in business and other activities. I was afraid and had a hard time going out."

Earlier, the prosecution indicted 13 people in January last year, including Mayor Song, Representative Hwang, former Ulsan Deputy Mayor Song Byung-gi, former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Won-woo, former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyung-cheol, former Blue House Political Secretary Han Byung-do, and former Civil Affairs Secretary’s Office Administrator Moon Mo. In April, Lee Jin-seok, head of the Blue House National Situation Room, was also indicted for violating the Public Official Election Act.

The prosecution’s investigation concluded that ahead of the June 13, 2018 local elections, the Blue House requested investigations into Kim Ki-hyun and his associates to help the election of Mayor Song, a longtime friend of President Moon Jae-in, and provided internal information from central and local governments to Mayor Song to assist in establishing election pledges.

The crime intelligence report written by former administrator Moon based on the misconduct information about Kim Ki-hyun provided by former Deputy Mayor Song was passed through former Secretary Baek and former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park to the National Police Agency and then delivered to the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency. Also, the police investigation status was reported to the Blue House about 20 times before and after the election.

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," and called it "a comprehensive case of election fraud."

This case sparked controversy over whether Judge Kim Mi-ri, who initially handled the case, intentionally delayed the trial by conducting the preparation hearing for over a year. Chief Justice Kim Myeong-su unusually retained her for a fourth year in the February regular personnel reshuffle, but after Criminal Division 21 was reorganized into a collegial panel, Judge Kim suddenly submitted a leave of absence.

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