People Power Party Gyeongnam Committee Urges Swift Investigation into Gimhae Mayor 'Indirect Advertising Allegations'

The People Power Party's Gyeongnam Provincial Committee has called for a swift and thorough police investigation into allegations of "indirect advertising by media outlets and the payment of advertising expenses by a third party" involving current Gimhae Mayor Jung Youngdu when he was a candidate during the 9th nationwide local elections.

On September 7, the People Power Party Gyeongnam Provincial Committee held a press conference in front of the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency, demanding, "Investigate the allegations of indirect advertising in the Gimhae mayoral election swiftly and thoroughly."

According to the Gyeongnam Provincial Committee and others, suspicions have been raised that a PR manager for then-candidate Jung—who ran as the Democratic Party candidate—directly contacted several media outlets in Gimhae and proposed publishing an advertisement for the Gimhae Bukyeong Pig Farming Cooperative instead of the candidate's banner ad, with the cooperative paying for the advertisement costs.

On May 27, the provincial committee filed an official complaint with the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency against then-candidate Jung and related parties in connection with these allegations.

The Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency has continued the investigation since receiving the complaint.

The People Power Party Gyeongnam Provincial Party Committee and civic groups from the Gimhae area are holding a press conference urging the police to swiftly investigate suspicions of indirect advertising and payment of advertising fees in the Gimhae mayoral election.
[Photo by Se-ryoung Lee]

The groups emphasized, "This matter should not be dismissed as mere political allegations or party disputes," and added, "The advertising costs in question are estimated to exceed 20 million won, raising the possibility of legal issues such as whether these costs should be considered campaign expenses subject to the statutory limit for Gimhae’s mayoral race."

They continued, "It is not merely a question of who placed the advertisement. If it is confirmed that a third party paid costs for the candidate’s campaign activities, several legal issues may arise under the Public Official Election Act, including restrictions on donations, illegal election spending, and exceeding the legal campaign expenditure cap."

The lawmakers argued, "If the allegations are true, those responsible must be held strictly accountable under the law. If not, a prompt investigation should clarify the matter beyond doubt. When substantial objective evidence has been submitted but the investigation is delayed like this, it only fuels needless political controversy and public distrust."

They further noted, "In election-related cases, time is directly tied to the integrity of evidence. We urge the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency to stop hesitating and clarify the facts of the case swiftly and fairly, based solely on evidence, the law, and principle."

Not only members of the People Power Party's Gyeongnam Provincial Committee but also members of local civic groups in Gimhae participated in the press conference that day.

The civic groups plan to hold a press conference at Gimhae City Hall on the morning of September 9 to condemn the allegations and urge a police investigation.

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