Regarding Ulsan Election Interference Verdict... Ruling Party Says "Investigation into Moon Must Also Resume"

與 "It is common sense to see Moon as behind this"
Hwang Unha "Immediate appeal" Im Jongseok "Excessive claim"

Regarding the first trial verdict on the Moon Jae-in administration Blue House's alleged 'interference in the Ulsan mayoral election,' the ruling party has come forward demanding a 'no sanctuary investigation' into former President Moon Jae-in.

On the 29th, the court sentenced former Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho and Democratic Party lawmaker Hwang Un-ha, who was indicted for conducting a 'directed investigation' by the Blue House, to three years in prison each. Former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Won-woo was sentenced to two years in prison.

The Ulsan mayoral election interference case involves allegations that before the 2018 local elections, the Blue House systematically intervened to help the election of former Mayor Song, known as a longtime friend of former President Moon Jae-in, thereby violating the Public Official Election Act.

Former Ulsan Mayor Song Cheol-ho is attending the sentencing trial for allegations of the Blue House's interference in the Ulsan mayoral election and violations of the Public Official Election Act at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-dong, Seoul on the 29th. Photo by Jo Yong-jun jun21@

In response, the People Power Party has labeled it the "Ulsan mayoral election manipulation case" and is intensifying its offensive, demanding investigations into former President Moon, former Presidential Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok, and former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk.

On the morning of the 30th, at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, Party Leader Kim Ki-hyun stated, "It is common sense to see former President Moon as being behind all these proceedings. We must hold him legally accountable through a no sanctuary investigation." He added, "Investigations into Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok and Civil Affairs Secretary Cho Kuk must also be immediately resumed."

Lawmaker Hwang promptly announced his intention to appeal and prove his innocence. On the 29th, through social media (SNS), Hwang said, "From the moment the prosecution conducted an unreasonable investigation and forced an unfounded indictment four years ago, I have naturally believed this case to be innocent," adding, "The police conducted a normal investigation; there was neither a request nor a directive."

He continued, "I will never back down. I will definitely overturn this in the appellate court," emphasizing, "I will prove the excessive investigation and retaliatory indictment by Yoon Seok-yeol's political prosecution."

Former Chief of Staff Im Jong-seok also dismissed the allegations against former President Moon. Appearing on MBC radio that day, Im said, "No one has shown as much neutrality during the local elections as we did, repeatedly expressing our intention to remain neutral along with the president's strict orders," and criticized, "Since all accusations of bribing candidates or policy support were acquitted, Leader Kim's claims are excessive."

Im further explained, "The remaining issue is that at the time, a civil affairs officer at the Blue House reported misconduct and intelligence about then-Mayor Kim Ki-hyun's chief of staff to Secretary Baek Won-woo, who passed it on to the anti-corruption office, which simply forwarded it to the Special Investigation Division of the police. During this trial, nothing has emerged to show any planning or conspiracy in this process, and the court viewed the act itself as an abuse of authority," he asserted.

He added, "This is a matter that will need to be reviewed twice or thrice by the courts in the future," and said, "Since it was merely a simple referral to the relevant agency, and even this was judged as abuse of authority, we need further court rulings." He concluded, "If this is not clarified, any administration will inevitably face confusion."

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