Ahead of the June 3 local elections, former Reform New Party Busan mayoral candidate Jeong I-han, who was arrested on suspicion of staging the ‘drink attack’ incident, was found to have completed roughly two more weeks of campaign events even after undergoing a police investigation.

According to Kyunghyang Shinmun reporting on the 9th, Jeong admitted most of his wrongdoing during a police summons in mid-May. At the time, he reportedly stated during questioning to the effect that “I needed something that would work to my advantage in the election.”

The ‘drink attack’ incident occurred on April 27 near the Guseo Interchange in Geumjeong District, Busan, when a passing driver, identified as A, threw a beverage at Jeong while he was campaigning. Jeong claimed that, as he tried to dodge the incoming drink, he tripped on the road curb and fell, suffering a concussion and muscle contusions.

While checking A’s call history, police uncovered records of calls with Jeong. Based on this, they proceeded with the investigation and obtained closed-circuit (CC)TV footage from A’s PT shop that could serve as decisive evidence.

At the time of the offense, Jeong also sparked controversy by claiming he had been diagnosed with a concussion and muscle contusions at a large hospital in Busanjin District operated by his father. This was because there was no clear reason to travel to a facility 12㎞ away instead of going to a nearby hospital. This raised suspicions that the hospital run by his father might have violated the Medical Service Act.

A police official said, “It has been confirmed that a medical certificate was actually issued,” adding, “However, whether the certificate was issued based on a simple consultation, and whether Jeong actually suffered the injuries he claimed, requires further investigation.”

The official added, “At first they headed to Busanjin District, where the campaign office is, but partway they appear to have changed the destination to the hospital. It appears Jeong’s campaign decided to go to that hospital.”

However, it has not yet been confirmed whether Jeong’s father was involved in the offense. Police also made clear that nothing has yet been confirmed regarding involvement or support by the Reform New Party’s central party.

A police official said, “Because Jeong has been detained, we should be able to speed up the investigation,” and added, “We expect to refer the case to the prosecution around next week.”

Jeong finished third in the Busan mayoral race in the June 3 local elections with 27,418 votes (1.56%).