Police clear Jeungpyeong county head of false election-publicity allegations
In short
Goesan Police Station decided not to refer Jeungpyeong County head Lee Jae-young to prosecution over allegations that he published false information in his June 3 local election publicity materials. He had listed attracting a Jeungpyeong police station as one of his achievements, drawing a complaint from the camp of rival candidate Lee Min-pyo of the People Power Party. Police judged that Lee had contributed to the project while serving as deputy county head.
Why it matters
The decision closes, at the police stage, an election-law complaint against a sitting county head in North Chungcheong Province. It rests on the police finding that he took part in the project as deputy county head, which the complainants disputed. The documents give no indication of further legal steps or wider political consequences.
Key facts
- Goesan Police Station decided not to refer Jeungpyeong County head Lee Jae-young to prosecution over an alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act, Yonhap reported, citing police, and Newsis also reported the non-referral. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The allegation concerned his publicity materials for the June 3 local elections. [ 1 ]
- Lee had listed the attraction of a Jeungpyeong police station as one of his achievements in those materials. [ 1 , 2 ]
- The complaint was filed by the camp of rival candidate Lee Min-pyo of the People Power Party. [ 1 ]
- The complainants said the police station project was pushed in 2018 by then county head Hong Seong-yeol and lawmaker Kyung Dae-soo and had passed a cabinet meeting. [ 1 ]
- Police judged that Lee had contributed to attracting the police station while serving as deputy county head, according to Yonhap. [ 1 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- The date of the police non-referral decision. Yonhap says only that the decision was made recently; no date is given.
- The complainants' arguments and the police's reasoning. These details appear only in Yonhap's report, a single source, and could not be checked against other outlets.
- Whether the complainants can or will take any further step. The documents do not say whether any appeal or other procedure remains.