Gyeongsangnam-do: "It's inappropriate to interpret police questioning as confirmation of allegations ... Stop the political attacks"

"He should not become the target of a political attack simply because he was questioned for a long time."

After Gyeongsangnam-do Governor Park Wansu was questioned by police for 13 hours over alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act, the provincial government issued this response to calls from some quarters for the governor to resign.

Yu Haenam, spokesperson for Gyeongsangnam-do, held an unscheduled emergency press conference at the provincial government press center on October 12.

He said, "Gyeongsangnam-do and Governor Park have cooperated fully and resolutely with the police investigation without setting any conditions. We have also cooperated as much as possible with the procedures requested by the investigative authorities, and have quietly continued to cooperate in the belief that the investigation was fair, even as it expanded to include a search of the provincial government office and extensive questioning of people involved."

He added, "Governor Park also cooperated fully with police questioning for 13 hours, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. on October 7."

Gyeongsangnam-do spokesperson Yoo Haenam announces the province’s position on Governor Park Wan-su’s lengthy police questioning over alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act. [Photo by Lee Seryeong]

Spokesperson Yu stressed, "There is a clear reason why Governor Park, as the province's chief executive, actively cooperated with the investigation even at the cost of a lengthy questioning session despite the many pressing issues facing the provincial government: he has nothing to hide and nothing to evade."

He countered, "Some are highlighting only the unusually lengthy questioning and exaggerating or distorting it to make it seem as though the governor faces serious charges. The fact that someone was questioned for a long time does not in itself indicate the seriousness of the allegations or establish that a crime was committed."

He explained, "Based on the investigation so far, we believe the questioning took so long because investigators spent an extended period reviewing statements from various people, individual facts, and circumstances, rather than presenting decisive evidence directly supporting the allegations against the governor."

He added, "We believe the questioning went on for a long time because investigators repeatedly sought clarification and asked questions as they tried to link various facts and statements made at different times and in different contexts to a single criminal allegation."

Spokesperson Yu said, "Gyeongsangnam-do and Governor Park have refrained from commenting as much as possible, given that the investigation is ongoing. This is because we believed it was a priority to respect the investigative authorities' judgment and avoid unnecessary controversy, even if there were aspects of the investigation that were difficult to understand."

"However, cooperating with an investigation does not mean remaining silent to the end about every problem that arises during the process," he said. "We will continue to cooperate fully with any legitimate investigation, but will clearly state Gyeongsangnam-do's position at the appropriate time on facts and problems identified during the investigation."

He added, "We expect the attacks on Governor Park to continue. We will not respond to political attacks demanding that he step down or apologize simply because he was questioned."

In a related development, the Gyeongsangnam-do chapter of the Progressive Party held a press conference in the briefing room of the Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Council on the morning of October 12, calling on Governor Park to apologize and resign from his post.

Kim Inae, spokesperson for the provincial chapter, urged him to "bow in apology before the people of Gyeongsangnam-do and take political responsibility by resigning immediately," saying, "A person at the center of the allegations is sitting in the governor's office, responsible for the lives of 3 million residents of Gyeongsangnam-do."

On October 7, the Cyber Investigation Division of the Gyeongsangnam-do Police Agency summoned Governor Park Wansu and questioned him as a suspect for 13 hours, from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., over alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act.

Police are believed to have focused their questions on whether Park, then the People Power Party candidate for governor of Gyeongsangnam-do in the ninth nationwide local elections, had ordered or been briefed on activities including campaigning before the official campaign period and setting up a de facto campaign office.

The investigation began in May 2026, when the Gyeongsangnam-do Election Commission asked prosecutors to investigate nine people, including members of Governor Park's campaign team and current and former Gyeongsangnam-do provincial government officials, over allegations including campaigning before the official campaign period and setting up a de facto campaign office.

At the time, the camp of Kim Kyungsoo, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for governor of Gyeongsangnam-do, also filed complaints against five people over the production and distribution of deepfake videos and alleged election interference by public officials. Police are investigating the two cases together. In August 2026, a court rejected all four arrest warrants sought for current and former public officials in connection with the allegations.

The statute of limitations for election-related crimes involving the ninth local elections expires on December 3, 2026. Police are reportedly planning to conclude the related investigations this month and refer the cases to the Public Prosecution Office.

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