Cheon Yeong-gi, Mayor of Tongyeong, Reported to the Election Commission: "Regret Causing Concern, Will Act Responsibly"

Cheon Young-gi, mayor of Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam, who was reported for violating the Public Official Election Act, has expressed his position on the matter.

On the afternoon of the 11th, Mayor Cheon stated in a press release, "I regret causing concern to the citizens due to this unfortunate incident," and added, "I will sincerely cooperate with the prosecution's investigation."

He also said, "As an elected public official, I will be more cautious with my remarks and actively cooperate with the fair election management duties of the Election Commission," and "I will take this incident as an opportunity to act more responsibly and devote myself more diligently to city administration."

Cheon Young-gi, Mayor of Tongyeong City, Gyeongnam, is speaking at a local organization communication meeting.
[Photo by Tongyeong City Hall]

Earlier, Mayor Cheon was reported to the Gyeongnam Election Commission on the 11th for allegedly violating the Public Official Election Act by appealing for support for a candidate in the 22nd National Assembly election.

According to the Gyeongnam Election Commission, Mayor Cheon is accused of using his position at the Hansan Battle Festival in August to appeal for support for Jeong Jeom-sik, a member of the People Power Party and the National Assembly member for the Tongyeong-Goseong district, for next year's general election, and to induce favorable responses.

The Gyeongnam Election Commission received a video recording of Mayor Cheon making related remarks at the festival and has been investigating whether he violated the Public Official Election Act.

The video shows Mayor Cheon walking around the festival with Assemblyman Jeong, saying things like, "If you don't vote next year, you'll have to deal with the consequences," "The head of □□dong is a high school senior of Jeong Jeom-sik," and "It won't work if the votes don't come out. Since it's my district, please sell a lot of votes in April next year."

An official from the Election Commission stated, "It is a serious crime that severely undermines the fairness and order of elections when a public official, who must maintain political neutrality, engages in election campaigning," and added, "We will continue to take strict measures according to regulations."