Kim Jin-ha, Yangyang County Governor, Arrested on Charges of Forced Molestation and Bribery

Yangyang County Governor Kim Jin-ha, who is accused of inappropriate behavior such as lowering his pants in front of a female complainant and charges of bribery and improper solicitation, has been detained.

On the afternoon of the 2nd, Kim Jin-ha, the governor of Yangyang-gun, Gangwon, was leaving the Chuncheon District Court Sokcho Branch after completing the pre-arrest detention hearing (warrant review).
Governor Kim is accused of forcibly molesting a complainant and receiving money and valuables in exchange for resolving complaints from the complainant. Photo by Yonhap News

On the 2nd, Lee Eun-sang, the judge in charge of warrants at the Chuncheon District Court Sokcho Branch, issued an arrest warrant during the pre-arrest detention hearing for Kim Jin-ha, citing concerns over evidence tampering.

Along with Governor Kim, female complainant A, who was also subject to an arrest warrant on charges of blackmail using sexual crime-related materials and bribery, was detained as well.

The court conducted the pre-arrest detention hearing for the suspects starting at 10 a.m. that day and issued the warrants about seven hours later.

Governor Kim is accused of receiving money and valuables from A in exchange for resolving complaints. He is also charged with inappropriate behavior toward A, including lowering his pants in front of her at a cafe in the Yangyang area in December 2023.

Earlier, in October of last year, the police conducted searches of Yangyang County Office and Governor Kim’s residence, and in November, Kim was summoned for investigation on charges including violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and forcible molestation.

Governor Kim has not made any official statements to date and is known to be denying all charges. During the process of his detention on the 2nd, he remained silent when reporters asked questions such as "Do you have any separate statements?"

Meanwhile, amid various allegations of misconduct, Governor Kim submitted his resignation from his political party, the People Power Party, citing "personal reasons" in September of last year, and the Gangwon Province branch of the People Power Party promptly processed his resignation.

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