Judicial risk is recurring as Oh Tae-wan, the governor of Uiryeong County, South Gyeongsang Province, who has been tried for violating election laws since his first election, was indicted again during his third term.
In the previous case, he was fined or found not guilty and maintained his position as county mayor, but he was judged again by the court on charges of publishing false information during the June 3 local elections this year.
According to the legal community on the 8th, the Masan Branch of the Changwon Regional Public Prosecutors' Office indicted County Governor Oh without detention on charges of publishing false information under the Public Official Election Act on the 13th of last month.
County Governor Oh, who ran as an independent candidate, is accused of publishing false information while campaigning in front of an apartment in Uiryeong on May 31, claiming that People Power Party candidate Kang Won-deok was buying votes by giving money to residents.
Candidate Kang's side filed a complaint to the police, claiming that the statement was false.
County Governor Oh's election law trial began in 2021, when he was elected for the first time in the Uiryeong County re-election.
At the time, it became a problem that his career was listed in the election announcement as 'equivalent to a level 1 special adviser for political affairs in Gyeongnam Province' and 'equivalent to a level 2 policy director.'
The court judged that the notation was different from his actual experience and sentenced him to a fine of 800,000 won in November of the same year. Since neither side appealed, the sentence was confirmed, and County Governor Oh retained his position as county governor.
Even after he was re-elected in the June 1 local elections the following year, the election law trial continued.
County Governor Oh was indicted on charges of having a public relations person send 110,000 election text messages between March and May 2022 and providing 9 million won on four occasions in return.
This case was not indicted by the prosecution due to insufficient evidence, but the Busan High Court Changwon Trial Court upheld the request for financial assistance and the case went to trial.
However, the Masan Branch of the Changwon District Court declared him not guilty in 2024, deeming that the charges were not proven enough to exclude reasonable doubt. The prosecution did not appeal, so the acquittal was confirmed.
Separately, County Governor Oh was indicted on charges of forcibly molesting a female reporter at a press conference in June 2021, and a fine of 10 million won was confirmed by the Supreme Court in March of last year, but he maintained his position as county governor.
In a general criminal case, the head of a local government loses his/her position if a sentence of imprisonment or higher, including probation, is confirmed. If a violation of the Public Official Election Act related to elections is punishable by imprisonment or a fine of more than 1 million won, the election is invalidated.
Regarding the recently indicted case of election law violations, County Governor Oh explained, "There were several reports at the time, but we did not definitively say who gave the money," and added, "We also have data to prove that the statement was not false."
He added, "It is absurd that even though I submitted a written statement to the police and prosecutors, I was immediately indicted while the statute of limitations was still quite long. Since Candidate Kang was also accused of violating the Public Official Election Act, I believe that the relevant investigation will reveal whether he was involved in any bribery transactions and the truth of his remarks."
The Criminal Division 1 of the Masan Branch of the Changwon District Court will hold a trial preparation date for this case on the 25th.
