Kim Kimoon Seocheon County Governor Candidate's Camp Caught by Election Commission Over Cash Envelope Scandal

Cheonnam Election Commission Exterior

As the June 3 local elections approach, controversy has erupted in Seocheon, South Chungcheong, over allegations of government-led election intervention, with a new accusation emerging regarding the distribution of cash envelopes by Kim Kiwoong, the People Power Party candidate for county governor.

According to an investigation by The Asia Business Daily on May 30, a person identified as “A,” believed to be Kim's spouse, delivered a cash envelope to the owner of an agricultural pesticide store in Seocheon between 2 and 3 p.m. on May 28.

A local resident reported the incident to the Seocheon County Election Commission, which caught the act at the scene and secured both the cash envelope given by “A” and CCTV footage as evidence.

The exact amount of money in the envelope handed over by “A” is unknown, and it has been confirmed that the owner of the pesticide store previously served as the chairman of the Seocheon County Council.

Earlier that day, the South Chungcheong Election Commission filed a complaint with the prosecution against a grade 5 senior official from the Seocheon County Office and the head of the election management team for allegedly violating the Public Official Election Act.

These officials are accused of planning and facilitating an event in which policy inquiry response letters were delivered between the irregular workers’ union of the Seocheon County Office and candidate Kim.

The Asia Business Daily made several attempts to reach candidate Kim for comment but was unable to obtain a response.

An official from the Seocheon Election Commission stated, "We are currently verifying the facts with the parties involved."

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