2 referred to prosecutors, 104 still under investigation; 20 election violence cases also being pursued; four-month intensive investigation period begins Thursday
The Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency said Thursday it had booked 114 people on election law violations in connection with the 9th nationwide local elections, held Wednesday.
Of those, police referred two to prosecutors and continue to investigate the remaining 104.
According to the agency, it assembled a dedicated investigation team of 72 officers across the metropolitan police headquarters and 10 district stations beginning Feb. 3, the date preliminary candidate registration opened, to crack down on serious election crimes including smear campaigns, vote-buying and civil servant involvement in electioneering.
Among the violations detected, smear campaigns — the spreading of false information or fabricated news — accounted for the largest share at 49 cases, or 43 percent of the total. Of those, 29 involved online channels such as social media, outnumbering the 20 offline cases.
Twenty people were also booked for election-related violence that threatened the safety of campaigning and are currently under investigation.
By how cases were initiated, complaints and accusations filed by individuals accounted for the majority at 75 cases, or 65.8 percent, followed by tip-offs and petitions at 26 cases (22.8 percent), referrals or complaints from the National Election Commission at 8 cases (7 percent), and police intelligence or self-initiated detection at 5 cases (4.4 percent).
With the election now over, the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency will run a four-month intensive election case investigation period from Thursday through Oct. 2.
Police plan to investigate all election cases swiftly and strictly regardless of whether the accused won or lost, with the aim of closing all cases before the Dec. 3 statute of limitations deadline for election crimes committed during this cycle.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
