Changwon Mayor Hong Nampyo cleared of election law violation charges... "Will lay the foundation for future city administration"

Hong Nampyo, mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam, gained momentum in city administration as he was cleared of charges of violating the Public Official Election Act one year after the trial began.

The Criminal Division 4 of Changwon District Court (Chief Judge Jang Yujin) acquitted Mayor Hong on the 8th of charges related to conspiring to buy a candidate.

Mayor Hong was put on trial for allegedly conspiring with Mr. A, who was the head of the general election countermeasures headquarters during the nationwide simultaneous local elections in June 2022, to offer and promise a public office to Mr. B, who intended to run in the People Power Party’s Changwon mayoral primary, on the condition that Mr. B would withdraw from the race.

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, is answering reporters' questions after the first trial verdict.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

The court ruled that one of the key issues in this case, whether Mr. B was a person intending to become a candidate, was affirmed: Mr. B was indeed a person intending to become a candidate, thus recognizing the charge of candidate bribery.

Although Mr. B, who had multiple candidacy experiences, did not explicitly express his intention to run this time by registering as a preliminary candidate, recruiting responsible party members, promoting himself on personal social networking services (SNS), or announcing his candidacy, unlike previous elections, the court found that he intended to participate in the party primary.

The court interpreted that Mr. B’s requests to reporters to mention him as a prospective candidate, his steady appearances on economic-related broadcasts, and his responses to inquiries about his candidacy?where he did not give a definite answer but said he was considering it?lend credibility to the claim that Mr. B intended to raise his profile through the party primary and then run in the next National Assembly election.

Despite a long period of witness examination, Mr. B’s testimony was consistent, and the court found it true that Mr. A offered Mr. B the position of economic special advisor.

Regarding former Changwon Industrial Promotion Agency Director Jang Donghwa, who was summoned as a witness but did not appear and submitted a statement of facts after the conclusion of the trial, the court explained that while it could not fully trust the content, it was consistent with Mr. B’s statement that Mr. B had expressed his intention to run.

However, the court did not accept the claim that Mayor Hong knew this and conspired with Mr. A.

There was no direct evidence that Mayor Hong and Mr. A discussed Mr. B’s status regarding the party primary, and the court believed it was highly likely that Mr. A acted unilaterally without the consent of Mayor Hong, who was the candidate.

As grounds for this, the court cited the defense claims by Mayor Hong and Mr. A’s lawyers that Mayor Hong instructed not to make any public office offers or promises at official events during his candidacy, and the testimony of Mr. C, another election countermeasure committee member, that Mr. A proposed the position to Mr. B without consulting or reporting to the candidate.

Considering that Mayor Hong was a political newcomer but Mr. A and Mr. C had extensive election experience, the court emphasized that it could not exclude the possibility that the election countermeasure committee members acted solely to ensure the candidate’s victory.

The court stated, “Mr. B repeatedly told Mr. A that he trusted only him as a senior, and Mr. A also said to trust him. Since Mr. A held an important position in the campaign, Mr. B could not help but believe that Mr. A’s words represented Mayor Hong’s intentions.”

“However, the claim that Mayor Hong was unaware of the details of the promised position is plausible, and based solely on the evidence submitted by the prosecution, it is difficult to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the charges are proven,” the court ruled.

It added, “Mr. A used his position in the election headquarters and his status as Mr. B’s high school senior to offer Mr. B a public office in exchange for withdrawing from the race. This obstructed the party’s proper decision-making in selecting candidates and undermined the fairness of the party primary, making the crime serious and the nature of the offense grave.”

“Although Mr. B passively complied with his high school senior’s request, as someone with several election experiences, he clearly recognized that promising a public office could lead to criminal punishment. Since he was a person intending to become a candidate in the party primary for the mayoral election, his guilt is not light. However, considering that he filed a complaint to expose corruption despite knowing he would be punished and that he has no prior criminal record, these factors were taken into account in sentencing,” the court explained the reasons for sentencing.

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, is walking toward the courtroom building of Changwon District Court to attend the first trial sentencing.
[Photo by Lee Seryeong]

At the sentencing hearing on the 1st, the prosecution requested eight months imprisonment for Mayor Hong and Mr. A, and four months imprisonment for Mr. B.

On this day, the court acquitted Mayor Hong, sentenced Mr. A to six months imprisonment, and sentenced Mr. B to four months imprisonment with one year probation.

Although Mr. A was sentenced to prison, he was not detained in court due to his faithful attendance at the trial.

With Mayor Hong freed from the shackles of ‘charges of violating election laws,’ the public sector’s anxiety caused by the trial lasting over a year was alleviated, and the citizens of Changwon, who had been worried about the outcome, were also able to put their concerns to rest.

The situation may change depending on whether the prosecution appeals, but Mayor Hong plans to focus on stably advancing Changwon’s current issues.

Immediately after the verdict, Mayor Hong said, “The economic situation in Changwon is not easy. We will advance change and innovation to firmly lay the foundation for Changwon’s next 50 years and clearly show this to the citizens.”