Ahn Cheol-soo "Kang Seung-gyu, Chief of Civil Society, Reported to the Corruption Investigation Office"

Controversy Over Presidential Office Administrator's Involvement in Party Convention
Kim Ki-hyun: "100% False Claim of Violation of Public Official Election Act"

Ahn Cheol-soo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, announced on the 7th that he will file a complaint with the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Division (PCC) against Kang Seung-gyu, the Senior Secretary for Civil Society at the Presidential Office. This decision came after the administrative officers of the Presidential Office's Civil Society Secretary failed to respond to allegations that candidate Kim Ki-hyun conducted election campaigning.

Ahn Cheol-soo, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, is leaving after an emergency press conference held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul on the 6th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

According to Ahn's camp, promotional materials supporting candidate Kim and disparaging candidate Ahn have been continuously posted until recently in a KakaoTalk group chat involving officials from the Presidential Office's Civil Society Secretary.

At an emergency press conference held the previous day, candidate Ahn strongly criticized the allegations, stating that if true, they represent "a serious criminal act that undermines party democracy and flagrantly violates Article 7 of the Constitution regarding the political neutrality obligation of public officials." He also warned, "If the Presidential Office does not provide a clear response by today, legal actions will inevitably follow."

In a BBS radio interview on the same day, candidate Ahn hinted at possible legal action, saying, "(The complaint against the administrative officers) was made by a party member for now, and we plan to discuss in the morning meeting how to proceed at the party and campaign levels."

Furthermore, Ahn's camp plans to disclose additional reports related to the Presidential Office's alleged interference in the party convention during the runoff debate if he advances to the runoff vote in the party convention scheduled for the 8th.

The Senior Secretary at the Presidential Office is a political position equivalent to a vice-minister and falls under the investigation jurisdiction of the PCC.

On the other hand, Kim Ki-hyun's camp argued that the People Power Party's presidential election, which is conducted entirely by party member votes, is not an election for public officials such as the president or members of the National Assembly, and therefore is not subject to the Public Official Election Act. Kim appeared on YTN radio on the same day and said, "I only know from media reports, but it is absurd to hold public officials responsible just because political opinions are posted in a group chat they joined." He added, "The Presidential Office will investigate the content to determine whether it violates the law, but it is 100% wrong to say that this violates the Public Official Election Act."

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