Gyeongnam Governor Park Wan-soo and Sancheong Mayor Yoo Myung-hyun have been cleared of allegations related to church donations made during the June 3 local elections, according to police.
On November 6, the Gyeongnam Provincial Police Agency's Special Investigation Unit announced that it had decided not to pursue charges against Governor Park and Mayor Yoo, who were accused of violating campaign finance laws.
The allegations stemmed from donations made in late May to a church in Sancheong, where Park contributed 200,000 won and Yoo contributed 100,000 won under the guise of gratitude. However, police investigations revealed that these donations were made without the consent of the two officials, as a local council member, identified only as A, submitted the donations using their names without authorization. A is not currently serving as a council member and did not run in the June 3 elections.
Nonetheless, police have referred A to prosecutors for violating campaign finance laws regarding third-party donations.
According to Article 115 of the campaign finance law, it is prohibited to make or facilitate donations on behalf of candidates or their affiliated parties, which restricts third-party donations. Violations can result in up to five years in prison or fines of up to 10 million won.
Additionally, police have also decided not to pursue a case against Park's election campaign team, which was accused of violating campaign finance laws. This accusation came from the Democratic Party's candidate Kim Kyung-soo, who claimed that Park's campaign exaggerated polling results in its promotions and reported two campaign officials.
Meanwhile, police are expected to conclude their investigation into allegations of election interference and deepfake video production related to Park Wan-soo's campaign soon. On October 7, the Gyeongnam Provincial Police summoned Park as a suspect in a campaign finance violation case and questioned him for approximately 13 hours. Reports indicate that investigators focused on whether Park was aware of or directed the establishment of similar election offices.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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