'Illegal Recruitment of Party Members' Seoyangho, Former Mayor of Jung-gu, Seoul, Sentenced to Prison in First Trial

Former Seoul Jung-gu Mayor Seo Yang-ho is attending the warrant hearing held at the Seoul Central District Court on January 13. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Seoul Jung-gu Mayor Seo Yang-ho was sentenced to prison in the first trial for illegally recruiting party members to secure re-election.

On the 27th, the 27th Criminal Division of the Seoul Central District Court (Presiding Judge Kim Ok-gon) sentenced former Mayor Seo, who was detained and indicted on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act, to 1 year and 6 months in prison and 2 years of disqualification. Eight others, including the former chief secretary, policy advisor, and Jung-gu office officials who were indicted together, received suspended prison sentences.

The court found all the defendants guilty of the charges. It stated, "The defendants engaged in illegal activities over a considerable period in an organized and systematic manner to secure former Mayor Seo's victory in the party primary. They exploited their positions as public officials and used illicit methods, seriously undermining the political neutrality of public officials and the fairness and transparency of the election."

In particular, the court added, "All the crimes occurred under the direction or approval of the mayor. The other defendants were mobilized due to his position or relationship, so stricter responsibility must be imposed on former Mayor Seo."

Earlier, former Mayor Seo was brought to trial on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act for recruiting about 2,300 party members by mobilizing over 100 Jung-gu office officials from March to August 2021 and conducting illegal primary election campaigns within the Democratic Party. He is also accused of collecting information on tens of thousands of voters, including the recruited party members, and using it for the election.

However, he was nominated as the sole Democratic Party candidate in last year's local elections. In the general election, he lost by 489 votes to Kim Gil-seong, the candidate from the People Power Party, and failed to secure re-election.

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