Former Seoul Jung-gu Mayor Seoyangho Arrested on Charges of Illegal Party Member Recruitment

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Daehyun] Former Seoul Jung-gu Mayor Seo Yang-ho was arrested on charges of illegally recruiting party members using his official position ahead of the 8th nationwide local elections held in June last year.

According to the court on the 14th, Kim Sang-woo, the judge in charge of warrants at the Seoul Central District Court, issued the warrant requested by the prosecution for former Mayor Seo the day before, citing "concerns about evidence destruction."

Seoyangho, former mayor of Jung-gu Photo by Yonhap News

Earlier, the Public Investigation Division 2 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Lee Sang-hyun) requested pre-arrest warrants on the 9th for former Mayor Seo and two former Jung-gu office officials on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Local Public Officials Act.

Former Mayor Seo and others are accused of recruiting about 2,000 party members using their official positions from early 2021 until just before the June 1 local elections last year.

According to the prosecution's investigation, former Mayor Seo recruited party members in preparation for the party primary and was nominated as the sole candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission reported former Mayor Seo to the prosecution in April last year, stating that from December 2021, before the election, he had his staff hold local events and promoted achievements.

Former Mayor Seo lost his bid for re-election by 489 votes to current Jung-gu Mayor Kim Gilsung, who ran as the People Power Party candidate in the June 1 local elections.

The prosecution conducted a search and seizure at the Jung-gu office and other locations on June 2, the day after the local elections last year, securing related materials. They also summoned officials who received instructions as witnesses for investigation, then summoned former Mayor Seo as a suspect for questioning. The statute of limitations for violating the Public Official Election Act is six months after the election day, but for crimes committed by public officials related to their duties or using their position, the statute of limitations is ten years after the election day (or ten years from the date the crime was committed if after the election day).