Jung Won-oh, the Democratic Party's candidate for Seoul Mayor, stated that a 31-year-old assault case is indeed related to the May 18 Democratic Uprising, asserting, "This is also reflected in the court ruling." He announced plans to respond legally against the People Power Party, which has raised allegations of false explanations regarding the incident.
Speaking at a forum hosted by the Editors' Association in Seoul's Jung-gu on the morning of May 14, Jung claimed that the repeated disclosures by the People Power Party regarding the assault case are inaccurate.
In response to related questions, he stated, "The claims made by Kim Jae-seop (of the People Power Party) are false and fabricated," adding, "This is clear from the court ruling and the articles that were reported at the time."
The court ruling indicated that Jung assaulted a secretary of a National Assembly member from the Democratic Liberal Party during a dispute over the punishment of those involved in the June 27 elections and the May 18 incident while he was serving as a secretary to the Yangcheon District Mayor in 1995.
Jung challenged, "Please consider whether the unilateral claims of a member of the Minjoo Party, as recorded in the Yangcheon Council minutes, hold more weight than the court ruling," asserting, "While I understand what the People Power Party aims to achieve through manipulation, what awaits them is the judgment of the law."
He continued, "The Democratic Party filed a complaint the previous day for violations of election law based on false facts, and the truth will be revealed clearly in the future."
However, he refrained from commenting on whether he had apologized to the victim of the incident, stating only, "The campaign will respond to various claims at a press conference today."
Earlier, on May 13, Kim Jae-seop of the People Power Party claimed, based on the Yangcheon Council minutes, that the 1995 assault incident involving Jung occurred after he demanded that a female employee of a café stay overnight and was refused, contradicting Jung's assertion that it was a dispute stemming from political differences. While Jung remained silent throughout the day, his campaign office released clarifications citing media reports and court rulings from that time, denying the allegations.
On the same day, Joo Jin-woo, a member of the People Power Party, released audio recordings purportedly from the victim of the assault. The individual in the recording stated, "I have no memory of any argument related to May 18 or receiving an apology afterward."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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