Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook appeared at the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency on October 4 and was questioned for approximately 3 hours.
The questioning reportedly focused on allegations of violating the Public Official Election Act related to the circumstances surrounding the halt of an opinion poll during the process of unifying candidates for Ulsan mayor in the 6·3 local elections.
Because the investigation remains at a stage in which the accusations filed by the Ulsan City Party of the People Power Party and Mayor Kim’s rebuttal are in opposition, the truth of the allegations has not been determined by this appearance alone.
3-Line Summary
1. Mayor Kim Sang-wook underwent his first police questioning
2. The circumstances surrounding the halt of the unification poll are at issue
3. A determination on the allegations awaits the investigation’s results
Questioning Conducted at the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency on October 4
Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook appeared at the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Agency on the morning of October 4 and was questioned. The Seoul Shinmun and Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that Mayor Kim appeared at around 8 a.m. and came out a little after 11 a.m. This was the first time he had appeared at a police station and been questioned since taking office as mayor.
After completing the questioning, Mayor Kim stated that he had sufficiently explained several matters and maintained that he had not violated the law. Before appearing, Mayor Kim also claimed that accusations and suspicions had been filed indiscriminately and said he hoped the questioning would correct inaccurate information.
A police investigation is a procedure for verifying matters for which a complaint has been filed. The fact that Mayor Kim was questioned as a person accused in a complaint must be distinguished from a determination that the allegations were substantiated. No final determination by the investigative authorities has yet been reported.
The Halt of the Unification Poll as an Election Law Issue
The complaint related to the Public Official Election Act arose during the process of unifying the Ulsan mayoral candidates of the Democratic Party of Korea and the Progressive Party during the 6·3 local elections. At the time, Candidate Kim Sang-wook’s side declared that the opinion poll was being halted, saying there were circumstances suggesting organized intervention by certain forces.
Afterward, the Progressive Party side accepted a re-primary, Candidate Kim was chosen as the unified candidate, and he was elected mayor of Ulsan. The Ulsan City Party of the People Power Party filed a complaint on allegations of publicizing false information and obstruction of business, claiming that the polling company had announced that it halted the poll after discovering unusual matters even though organized intervention by a specific force had not been confirmed.
Mayor Kim denies the contents of the complaint. The key issues to be addressed in this investigation are the circumstances confirmed when the opinion poll was halted and what information was publicized about them. The complainant’s claims must be verified through the investigation, and Mayor Kim’s explanation must likewise be distinguished from the final disposition.
Election Law Allegations Ahead of the Statute of Limitations
Kyunghyang Shinmun reported that the statute of limitations for the alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act expires on December 3. This is reportedly the background to police focusing on election-law-related matters in this questioning.
Mayor Kim was also reportedly in a state of having been accused in connection with separate allegations of overseas prostitution, but he categorically denied them. Since this matter is also at the investigation stage, the allegations have not been established as fact. This appearance before the police was part of the process of verifying the facts of multiple complaint cases, and the legal conclusion will be determined through subsequent investigation and disposition.
References
Tags #KimSangwook #KimSangwookUlsanMayor #UlsanMayor #UlsanMetropolitanPoliceAgency #PoliceQuestioning #PublicOfficialElectionAct #ElectionLawViolation #CandidateUnification #HaltOfOpinionPoll #UlsanPolitics #LocalElections #UlsanCityPartyOfThePeoplePowerParty