Seocheon Civic Group Files Police Complaints Against Candidate Kim Kiwoong and Local Reporter

Distortion in News Report on Assault of Democratic Party Volunteer
Kim's Claim of Police Acquittal Not True

Kim Yongbin, the representative of Seocheon Sarang Citizens' Group, a civic organization in Seocheon, Chungnam, reported a local newspaper reporter to the police on the 26th for allegedly spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act.

A civic group in Seocheon, Chungnam, filed a criminal complaint with the police on the 26th against Kim Kiwoong, the People Power Party candidate for county governor, as well as a local media reporter, on charges including the dissemination of false information under the Public Official Election Act in connection with the June 3 local elections.

The Seocheon Sarang Citizen Group announced that it had reported Reporter B from local newspaper A to the Seocheon Police Station on several charges: spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act, slandering a candidate, defamation under the Criminal Act, and violating the Information and Communications Network Act.

The group asserted that Reporter B distorted the facts in a news article published on the 23rd regarding the assault of a female volunteer in her 30s—who was assisting Democratic Party county governor candidate Yoo Seungkwang—at a Seocheon Specialty Market campaign event.

In particular, the group claims that the reporter described the alleged perpetrator as “a man in his 70s with a disability who is battling cancer,” even though the assailant had not been clearly identified, and characterized the female volunteer as exhibiting “unusual behavior, including speaking informally, shouting, and self-harm,” thereby defaming the victim.

On the 26th, Seocheon Residents' Autonomy Participation Solidarity, a civic group in Seocheon region of Chungnam, filed a police complaint against Kim Kiwoong, the candidate for county governor from the People Power Party, for spreading false information under the Public Official Election Act.

The Seocheon Resident Autonomous Participation Solidarity also announced on the same day that it had filed a police complaint against candidate Kim Kiwoong for violating the Public Official Election Act.

The organization pointed out that, at a People Power Party campaign event on the 22nd, Kim stated regarding his election law case, “The police found me not guilty, but the prosecution is holding onto the case.” However, in reality, the Chungnam Provincial Police Agency had already referred him to the prosecution without detention on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.

The group argued, “Regardless of whether the prosecution files charges, the statement that ‘the police found me not guilty’ was not true as of that time,” asserting that this constitutes the crime of disseminating false information under Article 250 of the Public Official Election Act.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.