Spouse of Mokpo Mayor Accused of Election Law Violation Says, "I Will Correct This Political Conspiracy"

Complaint Filed with Police: Allegations of Repeated Intentional Bribery Requests and Hidden Camera Footage Using Vehicle at Scene

Lawyer Lee Sang-yeol (right) submitting a complaint to the Mokpo Police Station in Jeonnam. Photo by Seunghyun Jeong

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Seunghyun Jeong] Recently, A, the spouse of Kim Jongsik, the mayor of Mokpo City, Jeonnam, who was accused of violating the Public Official Election Act, has expressed her grievances and is taking legal action.

A’s legal representative, lawyer Sangyeol Lee, submitted a complaint to the Mokpo Police Station on the 10th, stating, "The spouse of the Mokpo mayor, A, did not directly hand over any money or goods," and "This was an intentional approach to exploit the Public Official Election Act violation, with repeated demands for money or goods."

Last year, B reported to the Election Commission that he received money or goods from A’s side and received part of a reward of 13 million won.

Lawyer Lee stated, “There are many suspicious aspects when examining the details of this case,” and “We have filed a complaint with the police against B, who demanded money or goods as part of a scheme and immediately reported it to the Election Commission.”

He continued, “B set the place and time to receive money and goods, secretly took photos, and immediately reported to the Election Commission,” and claimed, “There is also evidence that three vehicles were systematically mobilized at the delivery location at that time.”

He added, “If the owners and drivers of the vehicles that moved together at the time, as well as their call records, are revealed during the investigation, the mastermind behind this case will be uncovered.”

Meanwhile, the Jeonnam Election Commission filed a complaint with the prosecution on December 22 last year against A and three associates for providing compensation for election campaigning and donation acts in violation of the Public Official Election Act.

A and others are accused of providing B with 1 million won in cash as compensation for election campaigning and 15 boxes of shrimp worth about 900,000 won to be given to constituents in the electoral district.

Article 265 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that if a candidate’s spouse is sentenced to a fine of 3 million won or more for donation acts, the candidate’s election is invalidated; however, exceptions are made if the offense is recognized as induced or provoked by abuse.

In addition, Article 234 of the Public Official Election Act stipulates that those who commit the crime of inducing election invalidation shall be punished by imprisonment for not less than one year and not more than ten years.

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