Camp releases counter-statement two days before election, citing Supreme Court precedent on printed campaign materials; slams Lee for failing to apologize to residents over 'insufficient' business card entries
The race for Yangcheon-gu district mayor in Seoul has erupted into open confrontation just two days before the 9th nationwide local elections.
The campaign of Democratic Party of Korea candidate Woo Hyung-chan released a forceful counter-statement Friday, pushing back against People Power Party incumbent Lee Gi-jae's rebuttal of a complaint filed against him for allegedly violating the Public Official Election Act by publishing false facts for electoral gain. The camp said it distributed the statement to ensure residents had a clear account of the facts before election day Wednesday and to demand accountability.
The Woo camp placed particular emphasis on the legal stakes. "Under established election law precedent, the courts have consistently handed down stricter rulings on violations involving printed materials — business cards, campaign brochures — that voters can keep and review repeatedly, compared with ephemeral social media promotions," the camp said. "We do not take this matter lightly."
The camp added that it did not want to see "an unfortunate by-election in Yangcheon-gu" even if Lee won. The warning was pointed: a conviction carrying a fine of 1 million won ($665) or more would automatically void an election victory, meaning Lee's legal exposure could leave the district without effective leadership and waste taxpayer money.
Lee's camp had dismissed the complaint as "nitpicking driven by a polling reversal," arguing that no resident would look at the business card and mistakenly conclude a project had been completed. The Woo camp rejected that defense as "nothing but hollow excuses," saying the severity of the alleged violation would be determined by prosecutors, police, the election commission and the courts.
The Woo camp also seized on a line in Lee's statement acknowledging that "the wording on the business card may have been somewhat insufficient." "You misled residents who are unfamiliar with complex railway administrative procedures," the camp said. "Now you call it insufficient wording — why have you not offered a single word of apology to the voters of this district?"
When Lee's side raised Woo's own "underground and park conversion of Gukhoedaero" project as a counter-allegation, the Woo camp called it "an obvious attempt to muddy the waters." "If you have a problem with our campaign materials, file a complaint openly instead of playing games with the press," the camp said. "Do not use this as a cowardly distraction to dilute suspicion over your own false-fact allegations."
Woo camp manager Park Sang-wook said the core issue was straightforward. "The fact is that Lee himself publicly described this project as being in the 'conceptual stage' at the end of 2024, yet dressed it up as a 'key achievement' on his 2026 election business card to deceive voters," Park said. "Voters will render a wise judgment on the act of packaging a future possibility as a present accomplishment to cloud their judgment."
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