Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok has been sent to trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

The 6th Criminal Division of the Incheon District Prosecutors Office (headed by Chief Prosecutor In Hoon) announced on the 28th that it had indicted without detention seven people, including Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok and former and incumbent Incheon city officials, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

Mayor Yoo and others are accused of mobilizing Incheon city officials to conduct illegal electioneering when he ran as a candidate in the People Power Party presidential primary in April.

From April 9 to 21, Mayor Yoo posted 116 items on his personal social networking service (SNS) accounts related to the 21st presidential election, including materials promoting the People Power Party intra-party primary campaign, the presidential campaign, and achievements.

In addition, on April 20, the day before the first People Power Party primary poll, it was determined that 1.8 million phone calls were made sending a voice message from Yoo Jeong-bok encouraging participation in the poll, which included the campaign slogan ‘An Unexpected Contest’.

On April 21, the day of the first People Power Party primary poll, Mayor Yoo also ran promotional advertisements in 10 newspapers, featuring a photo of the autobiography of Yoo Jeong-bok along with assessments of him by politicians and bureaucrats and a summary of his political career.

Mr. A, the Incheon City senior political secretary who was indicted along with Mayor Yoo, urged attendees to support Yoo Jeong-bok and led chants despite being a civil servant at the press conference announcing Yoo Jeong-bok presidential bid held at Incheon Jayu Park on April 9.

A was also found to have commuted from April 10 to 22 to the Yeouido office in Seoul where the Yoo Jeong-bok campaign was based, gathering information on rival candidates and related matters.

Of the 12 people referred by the police on the 29th of last month, prosecutors, considering the degree of involvement, issued suspended indictments or no-charge dispositions for five, including officials from the Secretariat of Incheon City Hall.

A prosecution official said, “We recently summoned Mayor Yoo once for questioning” and “We cannot disclose specific details of the investigation, such as whether Mayor Yoo acknowledges the charges.”

With Mayor Yoo being sent to trial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, this is expected to affect the Incheon mayoral election next year. Mayor Yoo plans to seek a third term as the People Power Party candidate for Incheon mayor in the June 3 local elections next year.

If, before the election, a first-instance judgment imposing a criminal penalty of at least $750 (1,000,000 KRW) becomes final and is also finalized on final appeal, the right to run for office is revoked for five years, and campaigning is restricted during that period.