Former Representative Song Young-gil Sent to Prosecution Without Detention... Charged with False Information Disclosure

Allegations of False Defamation Against Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon During the June 1 Local Elections

Song Young-gil, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, is expressing his concession at the election campaign office set up in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 1st. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Gong Byung-sun] Former Democratic Party of Korea leader Song Young-gil has been referred to the prosecution on charges of false information disclosure.

On the 23rd, the Cyber Crime Investigation Division of the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency announced that on the 21st, Song was sent to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

Song is accused of falsely defaming Oh Se-hoon, the People Power Party's Seoul mayoral candidate during the local elections on June 1. Song posted a large notice on social media stating, "During Oh's 8 months as Seoul mayor, the city's debt increased by 4.7584 trillion won." However, the police judged this to be false information since the debt figure actually represented one year's worth of debt.

The People Power Party had filed a complaint against Song with the prosecution, but following the election, both ruling and opposition parties mutually withdrew all complaints by agreement. Nevertheless, the police reportedly referred Song to the prosecution, viewing his actions as a violation of the Public Official Election Act.

A police official stated, "Violations of the Public Official Election Act are not subject to the crime of non-prosecution by complaint," adding, "We investigated according to principle and referred the case to the prosecution."

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