Prosecutors Seek Arrest Warrant for Former Seoul Jung-gu Mayor Seoyangho over Illegal Party Member Recruitment

Seoyangho, former mayor of Jung-gu, Seoul. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin, Legal Affairs Specialist] The prosecution has requested an arrest warrant for former Seoul Jung-gu Mayor Seo Yang-ho on charges of illegally recruiting party members using his position as a public official ahead of the 8th nationwide local elections held in June last year.

The Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyun) filed a pre-arrest warrant request on the 9th against former Mayor Seo and two former Jung-gu district officials on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Local Public Officials Act.

Former Mayor Seo and others are accused of recruiting about 2,000 party members using their positions as public officials from early 2021 until just before the June 1 local elections last year.

According to the prosecution's investigation, former Mayor Seo recruited party members in preparation for the party primary and was nominated as the sole candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission reported former Mayor Seo to the prosecution in April last year, stating that from December 2021, ahead of the election, he had his staff hold local events to promote his achievements.

In the June 1 local elections, former Mayor Seo lost his bid for re-election by 489 votes to the current Jung-gu Mayor Kim Gil-seong, who ran as a candidate from the People Power Party.

The prosecution conducted a search and seizure at the Jung-gu district office and other locations on June 2, the day after the local elections last year, securing related materials. They also summoned public officials who received instructions as witnesses for investigation and later summoned former Mayor Seo as a suspect for questioning.

While the statute of limitations for violations of the Public Official Election Act is six months after the election date, the statute of limitations for crimes committed by public officials related to their duties or by abusing their position is ten years after the election date (or ten years from the date the crime was committed if after the election date).

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