Often found at theaters and museums, Kwon Mee-yoo has covered a wide range of cultural fields from K-pop and dramas to theater and fine art for over a decade. Now as K-Culture Desk editor, she tries to connect Korean culture with global readers through fresh perspectives.
136 probed for election fraud
By Kwon Mee-yoo
Staff reporter
A total of 136 successful candidates from the June 2 local elections are under investigation for violating election laws.
The Supreme Prosecutors' Office said Sunday that they have booked 176 of those voted in from the recent local polls, which elected 3,991 public officials nationwide.
The 176 offenders include nine heads of municipal and provincial governments, 68 heads of small cities and counties, 22 city and provincial councilors, 72 local councilors, three educational superintendents and two education councilors.
The prosecution indicted 24 of them, while dropping 16 cases. The remaining 136 are currently under investigation.
For instance, the Seoul Central District Court apprehended an executive of the Seoul branch of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), identified only as Choi, for bribing voters. Investigators seized and searched the ward chief-elect's office where Choi helped the election campaign. Choi is suspected of illegal campaigning, handing millions of won to voters in the district.
The prosecution said it would deal with cases which might result in the invalidity of the election within a month. The court also said it will complete the first and second trials of such cases in two months.
If the investigations and suits proceed in charging the alleged, many results are expected to be invalidated toward the year's end.