Jeong Yi-han, Candidate Who Staged 'Attack,' Booked 15 Days Before Election; Police Reveal Timeline

It has been confirmed that the police first obtained statements related to the staged attack allegations from Jeong Yi-han, the former Reform Party candidate for Busan mayor, on May 18, 15 days before the election.

The Busan Metropolitan Police Agency released a timeline of the investigation into the alleged staged attack, stating, "In accordance with Article 5, Paragraph 1 of the Public Information Rules, we are exceptionally disclosing investigation details to correct facts regarding misinformation or speculative reports."

According to the police, on May 18, Jeong, who was classified as a witness and victim in the 'obstruction of election freedom' case at the time, visited the police station briefly during his campaign activities following a summons.

During this visit, the police first heard statements regarding the staged attack allegations from Jeong and a fitness trainer, identified as A.

Although they had previously claimed to be strangers, phone records from the week prior to the incident confirmed that the two had been in contact.

The police officially booked Jeong as a suspect the following day, May 19.

The police had previously only stated that they heard the confession from Jeong in "mid-May," but they disclosed the exact date to the media for the first time following recent political controversy and debate.

May 19, the day Jeong was booked as a suspect, was the same day his campaign office requested an emergency press conference only to cancel it a few hours later, and Jeong himself became unreachable at that time.

During the subsequent investigation, the police first applied for a search and seizure warrant for Jeong on May 20, but it is known that they received multiple requests for supplementary investigation from the prosecution.

The police requested that Jeong appear for questioning again on May 22, but the candidate notified them through The Attorney that he would appear around June 8, after the election.

The police stated, "We promptly fulfilled the requests for supplementary investigation each time and reapplied for the warrant. The search and seizure warrant was issued around 9:40 p.m. on June 2 and executed on the morning of June 4."

During the warrant application process, the accomplice, fitness trainer A, changed his statement, claiming, "It was not a conspiracy, but a solo act to help candidate Jeong."

This was an attempt to receive a lighter sentence by framing it as a solo crime, but the conspiracy was proven after police secured phone records through a three-month communication warrant, confirming that the two had contacted each other multiple times.

The first interrogation of Jeong as a suspect took place on June 8, as scheduled by the candidate's side, and a total of three rounds of questioning have been conducted since.

Regarding claims that the police should have forced Jeong to withdraw before the election, the police countered, "We cannot disclose investigation details about a candidate whose charges have not been proven," adding that doing so "could constitute leaking official secrets, publicizing facts of a suspect, or civil servant interference in an election."

The police also explained that the one-month delay between the search and seizure warrant and the arrest warrant application was necessary to complete the process of proving the charges.

The police emphasized, "We have been in close consultation with prosecutors throughout the entire investigation process, including the application for search and seizure warrants and arrest warrants since the incident occurred," and added, "We have conducted the investigation swiftly and without gaps since becoming aware of Jeong's staged attack allegations."

Regarding the recent announcement by People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo that he would file a criminal complaint against the police command line for abuse of power, dereliction of duty, and violation of the Public Official Election Act, the police refrained from commenting, saying, "We have no position to state."

The police plan to refer the staged attack case to the prosecution later this week, once they finish analyzing whether there are additional accomplices and reviewing the financial transaction records between Jeong and a person named Yoon.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.