Ulsan Police Agency 3-hour investigationโฆ โIf the charges are acquitted, those who promoted and incited false propaganda should retire from politics.โ
(Ulsan = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Geun-ju = Ulsan Mayor Kim Sang-wook, who was suspected of violating the Public Official Election Act and engaging in prostitution, appeared at the police on the 4th and was interrogated for about three hours.
After completing the investigation for about 3 hours, Mayor Kim left the Ulsan Police Agency and said, "We talked about several issues, and since they were all part of the explanation, I explained them sufficiently."
Previously, Mayor Kim attended the Ulsan Police Agency around 8 am on this day.
Mayor Kim, who got out of his car wearing a dark blue jacket, white shirt, and sneakers, told reporters who asked why he was present, saying, "Even though no laws were violated, accusations have been made excessively." He added, "It has spread to various nonsense, which is very insulting to me personally and has the side effect of confusing citizens."
He continued, โI hope that this police investigation will serve as an opportunity to correct such wrongs.โ
Mayor Kim said, "You may remember that in the past, President Roh Moo-hyun's rice field watch incident and President Lee Jae-myung's Seongnam mafia incident were all revealed as false fabrications," and added, "But shouldn't there be cowardly and bad old-fashioned politics in Ulsan where no one is responsible and cannot be held accountable?"
Regarding the investigation, he added, "Because I have not done anything wrong, I plan to focus only on my work. That is why I came to today's investigation with a relaxed mind. I think it will be enough to tell the truth as it is."
This is the first time that Mayor Kim has appeared at the police for investigation.
It was reported that today's investigation will focus on allegations of violation of election law. This is because the police are speeding up the investigation as the statute of limitations for charges of violating the Public Official Election Act expires on December 3.
Mayor Kim's charge of violating the election law was related to the suspension of public opinion polls during the unification of the Democratic Party and the Progressive Party during the June 3 local elections this year.
At the time, candidate Kim Sang-wook's side declared the suspension of opinion polls, saying, "Circumstances suspicious of organized intervention by some forces have been discovered." After many twists and turns, the Progressive Party accepted a re-election, and candidate Kim Sang-wook was decided as the unification candidate and was elected mayor.
Accordingly, the Ulsan City Party of the People Power Party reported Mayor Kim to the police on charges of publishing false facts under the Public Official Election Act and obstruction of business under the Criminal Act.
The purpose is that Mayor Kim influenced the election by announcing that the poll company had discovered something unusual and stopped the investigation, even though no systematic intervention by a specific force was confirmed.
It has been reported that Mayor Kim has also been accused in connection with suspicions of prostitution in the Philippines.
In addition, a complaint has been filed with the police alleging that there are circumstances in which those involved in this suspicion delivered money and valuables to a specific person in order to clear the air.
On the 3rd, Mayor Kim directly mentioned the suspicions of prostitution surrounding him through social networking services (SNS), etc., and asserted, "If the charges are acquitted, the irresponsible people who raised suspicions and falsely propagated and incited them should take responsible action by 'retiring from politics' and 'resigning from their seats as lawmakers,' and specific media outlets that reproduced and expanded them should officially apologize to citizens."
He said, "Since the last election, he has been spreading nonsense such as rumors of living with a Russian woman and an affair with a yogurt lady, and is even raising prostitution rumors based on a trip to the Philippines 3-4 years ago when he was a lawyer for the purpose of contacting the local industry to expand immigration services, etc.," and added, "I think this has gone too far."
He then claimed, โCitizens are being drawn into wasteful debate and the important driving force of city administration is being damaged.โ
