Police Conclude No Charges for Hwang Kyo-ahn and Min Kyung-wook in 'Early Voting Manipulation Rumor' Case

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoo Byung-don] Former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn and former lawmaker Min Kyung-wook, who were accused of spreading false claims of early voting manipulation ahead of the last presidential election, have been cleared by the police.

On the 25th, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul announced that it had decided not to prosecute former Prime Minister Hwang and former lawmaker Min, who were reported for violating the Public Official Election Act and obstructing official duties, citing no charges.

A police official explained the reason for non-prosecution, stating, "After reviewing precedents of similar cases, we judged that there was no evidence of wrongdoing."

In March of this year, the Central Election Commission reported the two to the prosecution for spreading false information through newspaper advertisements, speeches at rallies, and YouTube channels, claiming that early voting was manipulated.

At the time, the Election Commission alleged that they disseminated false claims such as ▲establishing secret temporary offices for election fraud ▲using illegal stamps on early voting ballots ▲using QR codes without legal basis ▲connecting external internet networks to ballot sorting machines to manipulate votes. They also claimed that the false assertions led to the deployment of personnel to counter these claims, thereby obstructing election management duties.

The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office Public Investigation Division 2, which received the report, transferred the case to the police, and the Yeongdeungpo Police Station conducted the investigation.

An Election Commission official stated, "We plan to review whether to file an objection as soon as we receive the non-prosecution decision document."

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