[Breaking] Prosecution Arrests Song Cheol-ho, Head of Ulsan Mayor Election Campaign Headquarters

[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] It has been confirmed that the prosecution has arrested and is investigating two suspects related to the alleged interference in the Ulsan mayoral election.

According to the prosecution on the 27th, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kim Tae-eun) executed arrest warrants on the afternoon of the 25th against Kim, a former head of the campaign headquarters for Song Cheol-ho, the Ulsan mayoral candidate, and Mr. A, the owner of a used car dealership in Ulsan, and is currently investigating them. The charges specified in the arrest warrants are known to be violations of the Political Funds Act. A prosecution official stated, "It is true that the two were arrested in relation to funds, but we cannot confirm specific charges or investigation details."

At the first preparatory hearing on the 23rd of last month at the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 21 (Presiding Judge Kim Mi-ri) regarding the alleged interference in the Ulsan mayoral election involving Song and 13 others, the prosecution revealed, "Out of five cases and 20 people related to conspiracy charges, only some have been separated for decision, and the rest are still under investigation." At that time, the prosecution said, "Although time has passed due to the impact of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), full-scale summons investigations are currently underway," and "It is expected that additional investigations will take about 2 to 3 months."

In fact, the prosecution appears to have resumed the investigation into the alleged interference in the Ulsan mayoral election, which had been delayed due to COVID-19 and the general election, by summoning lawyer Shim Kyu-myung as a witness on the 14th. It is known that Kim and Mr. A, who are currently under investigation, recently had arrest warrants issued by the court after repeatedly failing to respond to summons notices.

The prosecution plans to continue investigating them until the afternoon of the day and decide whether to take custody measures. Under the Criminal Procedure Act, a suspect who is secured by emergency arrest or an arrest warrant must have a detention warrant requested from the court or be released within 48 hours.