▲ Regarding holiday gift sets linked to former Icheon Mayor Kim Kyung-hee
An aide to former Icheon Mayor Kim Kyung-hee, who is under investigation for alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act, has been detained and forwarded to prosecutors, it has been confirmed.
According to SBS coverage on Friday, the Icheon Police Station in Gyeonggi Province announced that it had detained and transferred person A, who previously served as Mayor Kim's secretary, and private business owner person B to prosecutors on the 7th on charges including violations of the Public Official Election Act.
They are accused of sending holiday gift sets worth approximately 4 million won, accompanied by a letter of gratitude under former Mayor Kim's name, via courier to dozens of eligible voters in January of last year.
Under the Public Official Election Act, no one is allowed to make donations related to an election on behalf of a candidate or others, and violations can lead to up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won.
According to the police investigation, the plan to send the gifts was spearheaded by person A, while person B provided the funds in a conspiracy.
Police applied for arrest warrants at the end of last month out of concern that the suspects might destroy evidence, which the court accepted.
The police investigation began following a complaint filed in March of last year by the Gyeonggi Provincial Election Commission during former Mayor Kim Kyung-hee's term in office.
At the time, the election commission filed a complaint with prosecutors on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, stating that circumstances had been detected indicating person A and others provided gift sets to voters and others to support Mayor Kim, the head of the local government.
Photographs of the gift sets obtained by SBS showed red ginseng products valued at over 90,000 won per box, along with a letter of gratitude bearing Mayor Kim's name.
The message stated, "Thank you for the love you always send. We hope you have an abundant and warm holiday with your family and relatives celebrating Lunar New Year," and concluded with the designation, "Presented by Icheon Mayor Kim Kyung-hee."
The election commission attempted to summon Mayor Kim several times to verify involvement, but the attempts fell through.
This was because Mayor Kim failed to respond to the summons.
Consequently, the election commission imposed a fine of 1 million won on Mayor Kim for failing to comply with the investigation without justifiable grounds.
Having received the complaint case from prosecutors following the election commission's assessment that an investigation into the suspicions was necessary, the police launched a full-scale compulsory investigation in April by raiding the secretariat and accounting division offices of the Icheon City Hall.
Police had previously obtained intelligence on similar suspicions and launched an investigation in August of last year before closing the case as "no charges," but this time the investigation reportedly gained momentum after securing various physical evidence, including the gift sets.
The police investigation continued even after former Mayor Kim lost the local elections in June, and person A and associates were ultimately detained.
However, the police did not book former Mayor Kim, who was person A's superior and whose name was specified in the gift set's letter of gratitude.
Police stated that while former Mayor Kim was summoned once as a reference witness for questioning, no circumstances indicating direct complicity in the crime were found.
During police questioning, person A and associates reportedly stated that they acted voluntarily out of a desire to help former Mayor Kim win the election without reporting it, and former Mayor Kim similarly distanced herself by stating she "knew nothing about it."
Former Mayor Kim repeatedly emphasized in an official statement issued in April, while the police compulsory investigation was in full swing, that "this is a matter of personal deviation" and "I clearly state that I am unrelated."
Police stated that person C, who was also reported alongside person A and associates for failing to cooperate with the election commission's investigation, has been forwarded to prosecutors without detention.
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