'Intervention in Party Primary' Allegation: Jo Gwang-han, Mayor of Namyangju, Granted Bail

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Jung-yoon] Jo Gwang-han, mayor of Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province, who is accused of interfering in the party primary process during the April 15, 2020 general election, was released on bail in the appellate trial.

The Criminal Division 2 of the Seoul High Court (Presiding Judges Lee Won-beom, Han Ki-soo, Nam Woo-hyun) approved Jo's bail on the 12th, who is charged with violating the Public Official Election Act, among other charges.

At the bail hearing, Jo's defense attorney requested bail, arguing there was no risk of flight or evidence tampering and that there were many grounds to contest the case in the appellate trial. Jo said, "There are local pending projects that need to be completed, and some key projects can only be handled by me," adding, "I will sincerely attend the trial from now on. Please show leniency so that I can be tried without detention."

The prosecution argued that if Jo were released, there was a risk of evidence destruction and that since circumstances had not changed since the first trial, detention should be maintained, but this was not accepted.

Jo is accused of instructing his political secretary at the time to recruit party members in order to defeat the incumbent National Assembly member Kim Han-jung, who was seeking re-election in the Democratic Party primary for Namyangju-eul in the April 15 general election, and to elect Kim Bong-jun, a former Blue House secretary.

The first trial court recognized a significant portion of Jo's charges as guilty and sentenced him to 1 year and 6 months in prison with a 1-year disqualification, ordering his detention in court.

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