The police decided not to prosecute the incumbent district mayors who ran for office after the decision to provide disaster relief funds just before the June 1 local elections.
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Gyumin] The police have decided not to prosecute incumbent district mayors who ran for office after deciding to provide disaster relief funds just before the June 1 local elections.
On the 1st, the Seoul Gwanak and Geumcheon Police Stations announced that they had decided not to prosecute Park Junhee, mayor of Gwanak District, and Yoo Seonghun, mayor of Geumcheon District, who were suspected of violating the Public Official Election Act's prohibition on donation acts, on the 14th and 21st of last month, respectively.
The police are known to have judged that the provision of disaster relief funds by Gwanak and Geumcheon districts falls under official duties, which is an exception to the prohibition on donation acts. It means that the provision of money or goods by local governments as stipulated by laws and regulations is not considered a donation act.
From February to April, they provided 50,000 won in disaster relief funds to residents of their respective districts. In response, in September, Assemblyman Jo Sujin of the People Power Party and Ko Youngchan, a member of the Geumcheon District Council, filed a complaint with the police, claiming that this constituted a donation act under the Public Official Election Act.
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