Three-Year Prison Sentences in First Trial Overturned to Acquittal on Appeal
Hwang Unha, a member of the Joguk Innovation Party, and former Ulsan Mayor Song Cheolho, who were indicted over allegations of Blue House interference in the Ulsan mayoral election during the Moon Jae-in administration, have been acquitted, with the verdict now finalized. This conclusion comes approximately five years and seven months after they were brought to trial.
Former Ulsan Mayor Cheolho Song (left) and Joguk Innovation Party Member Unha Hwang. Photo by Yonhap News
On August 14, the Supreme Court's Second Division (Presiding Justice Oh Kyungmi) upheld the lower court's acquittal verdict in the appeal trial regarding violations of the Public Official Election Act involving Representative Hwang, former Mayor Song, and others. Former Blue House Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Wonwoo and former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyungcheol, who were accused of intervening in a so-called "ordered investigation," were also acquitted. Han Byungdo, a Democratic Party lawmaker indicted for allegedly persuading Lim Dongho, a former Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party and then-rival in the Ulsan mayoral nomination race, to withdraw his candidacy, was likewise acquitted.
The Ulsan mayoral election interference case centered on suspicions that, ahead of the 2018 local elections, the Blue House systematically intervened to help former Mayor Song, known as a longtime friend of then-President Moon Jae-in, win the election. Former Mayor Song was accused of requesting an investigation related to then-Ulsan Mayor Kim Gi-hyeon (currently a People Power Party lawmaker) from Hwang, who was the Ulsan Metropolitan Police Chief in September 2017.
Previously, prosecutors alleged that a former Blue House Civil Affairs Office administrator, Moon, drafted a criminal intelligence report based on information from former Vice Mayor Song Byunggi. This report was said to have been relayed through former Civil Affairs Secretary Baek Wonwoo and former Anti-Corruption Secretary Park Hyungcheol to Hwang, resulting in an "ordered investigation." Based on this, the prosecutors indicted those involved in January 2020.
In the first trial, Hwang and Song were each sentenced to three years in prison. However, the appellate court reversed this decision in February, finding that the credibility of key witness testimony was lacking and that the drafting and delivery of the intelligence report fell within the official duties of Blue House staff at the time, ultimately acquitting them.
On this day, the Supreme Court stated, "There is no error in the lower court's judgment that violates the rules of logic and experience, nor is there any misunderstanding of the relevant legal principles regarding the Public Official Election Act, obstruction of official duties by fraudulent means, or disclosure of official secrets." The court dismissed the appeals filed by both the defendants and the prosecution.
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