Chung Mong-joon to Stand Trial Over New Town Scandal
By Michael Ha
Staff Reporter
Chung Mong-joon, a senior legislator of the governing Grand National Party (GNP), has been ordered to stand trial over alleged Election Law violations.
Chung, a member of the party's decision-making Supreme Council, issued a statement responding to the court order, saying that he will faithfully take part in the required legal proceedings. He also took a jab at recent media reports and said that Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon had indeed remarked in the past that he would positively review adding Chung's district in the city's ``new town'' redevelopment project.
The Seoul High Court ordered court trial proceedings Monday against two GNP legislators, Chung and Ahn Hyoung-hwan, over the allegation that they broke the Election Law during their campaigns for National Assembly seats. The court's ruling overturned an early decision by the prosecutors' office.
The state prosecutors had said that pending cases against the two legislators were weak, a decision that prompted the opposition Democratic Party to ask higher courts to intervene.
The trial would examine whether Chung violated the law by knowingly distributing false information and making false promises during his campaign last year. Chung told voters in his district in Seoul that he could have the area marked as part of the new town redevelopment project, which could have boosted real estate prices in the area.
One aspect of the legal proceedings will look at conversations and dealings between Chung and Mayor Oh, and whether any promises were made to include Chung's district in the project.
During his campaign, Chung had said he got the city government's pledge to have the district included. But within days of the parliamentary election, Major Oh said his administration would not be adding any more districts to the project.
The main opposition Democratic Party filed legal complaints against a number of GNP legislators including Chung for distributing false information.