Uiryeong County Council Faces Controversy Over Alleged Threats Among Members During Election of Second Half Chairperson

Independent lawmaker B: "Groundless, will take legal action"
People Power Party lawmaker A: "I was not threatened"

The Uiryeong County Council in Gyeongnam has been rocked by allegations that a council member was threatened by colleagues during the process of forming the council leadership for the latter half of the term.

Recently, the Uiryeong County Council has been experiencing conflicts with the executive branch over issues such as abuse of power, verbal abuse, staff promotions, and budget cuts. In addition, during the election for the latter half's council chair, five council members from the People Power Party boycotted a special session, resulting in a lack of quorum and the collapse of the leadership formation. However, on the 30th of last month, a dramatic turn occurred when a People Power Party member, referred to as A, attended, allowing the chair election to proceed.

The 288th Uiryeong County Council Extraordinary Session.
[Image provided by Uiryeong County Council]

On that day, independent council member Kim Gyuchan was elected as chair, with Oh Minja as vice-chair, Cho Soonjong as the operations committee chair, Hwang Seongcheol as the autonomy and administration committee chair, and Kim Changho as the industry and construction committee chair. All of them are independents.

The chair election appeared to conclude smoothly. However, after the election, strange rumors began to circulate within the council.

Allegations arose that independent council member B and others had threatened council member A, forcing A to join the leadership formation and participate in the chair election.

This is because council member A, who had previously opposed the election of an independent chair and had been at the forefront of resistance, suddenly joined the leadership formation, even going against the wishes of fellow party members.

According to a compilation of reports on the 6th, on July 4th and 5th last year, nine Uiryeong County council members, excluding Kim Gyuchan, attended a two-day workshop for the National Unification Advisory Council at the Jeju Gangjeong Naval Base.

After completing a security education session on the first day, People Power Party member A, at the suggestion of independent member B, moved to a nearby bar where they drank heavily and spent the night at a motel instead of the official accommodation. Local political circles have been abuzz with speculation about this incident, with many believing it played a decisive role in the latter half's leadership formation.

As the drinking session progressed, council members C and D joined later at the invitation of B, making a total of four attendees.

Notably, it was confirmed that A received a strange photo several months ago and was subsequently threatened.

This has fueled strong suspicions that A participated in the leadership formation due to threats from the independent council members.

Four People Power Party council members stated, "A was with us until the day before the leadership formation (the 29th of last month), but after briefly meeting with independent council members near the electric vehicle charging station in front of the council that afternoon, A's attitude changed completely."

They continued, "Even in a broadcast interview in the middle of last month, A emphasized that Kim Gyuchan should never become chair again," adding, "There is no explanation for the sudden change in attitude other than the Jeju incident."

On the other hand, independent member B, who is accused of making threats, gave a different account from the other council members who accompanied him.

In a phone call, B stated, "The claim that I threatened or manipulated A into joining the leadership formation is absurd," and explained, "The drinking session was prearranged among four council members before going to Jeju, and it is not true that I went to the bar alone with A." Attempts to reach B for further comment were unsuccessful.

B further claimed, "It is true that I drank at the bar, but I usually cannot drink, so I asked the bar owner to call a taxi and returned to the accommodation first. I have no knowledge of what happened afterward."

A also denied the allegations of being threatened.

A stated, "B suggested we drink together, so we went to a bar run by B's acquaintance and drank with hostesses," adding, "I don't remember much due to heavy drinking, and when I woke up the next day, I was in a motel."

A continued, "There are rumors that I was threatened with a strange photo, but that is completely untrue," and explained that participation in the leadership formation was a unilateral decision made in defiance of fellow council members' wishes in order to normalize the council.

Meanwhile, despite these explanations, the controversy is rapidly spreading to neighboring cities and counties. There are even growing suspicions that independent member B orchestrated a premeditated scheme to gain leverage over A.