"Targeting Opposition Mayors Ahead of Local Elections"
On September 2, metropolitan mayors affiliated with the People Power Party called on the Democratic Party of Korea to "immediately stop pressuring for a politically motivated special prosecutor's investigation for election purposes," criticizing the attempt to expand the scope of the insurrection investigation to include local government heads.
Seoul Mayor Oh Sehoon, Incheon Mayor Yoo Jeongbok, and Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Governor Kim Jin-tae issued a joint statement that day, saying, "The Democratic Party of Korea is openly targeting metropolitan mayors from the People Power Party and urging the special prosecutor to investigate them."
Jeon Hyunhee, chairperson of the Democratic Party's Special Committee for Comprehensive Response to the Three Major Special Prosecutor Cases, stated on August 31, "Heads of local governments from the People Power Party closed their offices and held emergency executive meetings on the day of the emergency martial law," arguing that the special prosecutor should launch an investigation into alleged acts of supporting insurrection.
In response, the People Power Party mayors said, "There was no closure of government offices on the day of the emergency martial law," and criticized the move as "a typical case of a 'politically motivated investigation' and 'targeted investigation' that pressures the special prosecutor to expand the probe to include baseless and false suspicions."
From their perspective, the Democratic Party of Korea is blatantly revealing its intention to use the special prosecutor as a tool to politically damage the three metropolitan mayors in order to win Seoul, Incheon, and Gangwon Province in next year's local elections.
The People Power Party mayors also called on Chairperson Jeon to "provide a legitimate reason for singling out Seoul, Incheon, and Gangwon Province among the 17 cities and provinces," and criticized, "If the special prosecutor is being used as a political maneuver for the local elections, the Democratic Party's special committee should be disbanded."
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