Allegations Mount Against Former Mayoral Candidate: From 'Staged Terror' to Fabricated Credentials

Allegations surrounding Jeong I-han, a former Busan mayoral candidate for the Reform Party currently under police investigation for allegedly staging a "beverage cup attack," are snowballing.

Beyond the alleged terror incident, various suspicions have been raised regarding his academic background and personal history.

In June 2006, Jeong transferred to the third year of a high school in Busan after attending David Hickman High School in Missouri, USA.

It appears he sought to obtain a domestic high school diploma, but it was discovered that his student records had been falsified, leading to his withdrawal from the school.

The homeroom teacher who falsified Jeong's student records was indicted and found guilty in connection with this matter.

The sentencing judgment for the teacher, surnamed Kang, reveals that Jeong was marked as having perfect attendance in the school's computer system, even though he did not attend classes.

At the time, Jeong had already left the country to enroll in the pre-medical program at Wake Forest University in the United States.

After receiving a suspended sentence, the teacher, Kang, returned to the same high school and even served as vice-principal. The chairman of the foundation that owns the high school was Jeong's father.

Jeong's father is a wealthy figure in the Busan region, formerly an ophthalmologist, who established general and nursing hospitals before acquiring a construction company and expanding it into a business group.

Jeong's father attempted to secure nominations from the Grand National Party and the Saenuri Party multiple times but failed, and he also ran as an independent candidate in general elections twice, only to be defeated.

In 2018, he served as a co-chairman of the campaign committee for Oh Keo-don, the Democratic Party's candidate for Busan mayor.

His son, Jeong, also entered politics, working as an aide in the office of a People Power Party lawmaker in Busan, as an administrative officer in the Office of the Prime Minister's Secretary for Civil Affairs, and as a spokesperson for the Reform Party.

In a public opinion poll conducted ahead of the June 3 Busan mayoral election, Jeong received 2.6% support. The polling agency that conducted the survey was an affiliate of the group owned by Jeong's father.

Police, who are investigating the possibility that the beverage cup attack on Jeong was staged, are also looking into the fact that Jeong went to his father's hospital, located about 12 kilometers away, instead of a nearby emergency room immediately after the incident, viewing it as suspicious.

It has been reported that a complaint has been filed with the police alleging that Jeong's father's hospital may have issued a false medical certificate to Jeong.

Reported by Kim Minjeong | Video by Jang Yu-jin | Graphics by Yook Do-hyun | Produced by SBS Digital News
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.