Incheon City Officials Whose Resignations Were Not Accepted, Controversy Over Election Campaign for Presidential Candidate Yujeongbok

There is controversy as staff members of Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok's campaign, who are public officials, are engaging in election campaigning.

According to Incheon City and Mayor Yoo's campaign on the 11th, about 10 fixed-term public officials from the Incheon City Secretary's Office, Public Relations Planning Office, and Political Coordination Office have joined the primary campaign without having been officially dismissed, assisting Mayor Yoo's election campaign.

They submitted their resignation letters on the same day Mayor Yoo declared his presidential candidacy on the 9th, but since it usually takes more than two weeks to process resignations, they are still considered public officials. The Public Official Election Act prohibits public officials from engaging in election campaigning, raising concerns about illegal election activities by these individuals.

In this regard, the Incheon City Election Commission is investigating whether these public officials have been officially dismissed and whether there has been a violation of the Public Official Election Act. A representative of the city election commission stated, "We are aware of the matter" and "We are verifying the facts with the public officials who campaigned with Incheon City."

Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeong-bok is holding a press conference announcing his candidacy for the presidential election in front of General MacArthur's statue at Jayu Park on April 9, 2025. Photo by Yoo Jeong-bok Election Campaign.

The Incheon branch of the Democratic Party of Korea also issued a statement on the same day, saying, "Seeing public officials who receive citizens' tax money working in a presidential campaign raises doubts about whether Mayor Yoo's campaign has a sense of lawfulness and public ethics," and urged a thorough investigation by the election commission.

They added, "The Incheon branch of the People Power Party should not just wait for the election commission's investigation but proactively clarify the facts considering the seriousness of the matter and apologize to the citizens of Incheon," criticizing the party.

The party defines this issue as an act undermining election neutrality by incumbent public officials and is considering filing charges against the related public officials for violating the Public Official Election Act.