Han Dong-hoon demands Reform Party reveal when it learned of staged attack; Lee Jun-seok fires back

People Power Party lawmaker Han Dong-hoon and Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok. [Yonhap]

Independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon said the central question surrounding the arrest of Jeong I-han, the Reform Party's Busan mayoral candidate, on charges of staging a fake attack is "when the police and the Reform Party learned that it was a staged act," and pressed both to disclose that timeline.

Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok shot back, saying he "had no idea" and telling Han not to view the matter with a "crooked eye."

Han said Friday on Facebook that reports had emerged indicating police had obtained a confession from Jeong before the election that the attack was staged. "If police knew before the election that it was a staged act, they should have disclosed that fact, and the Reform Party should have admitted it and withdrawn the candidate," he said.

Jeong I-han, the former Reform Party candidate for Busan mayor who faces charges of staging a fake attack during the June 3 local elections, enters the courtroom at Busan District Court on Wednesday to attend a pre-arrest hearing. [Yonhap]

Han said Jeong had received more votes than he otherwise would have because of public sympathy over the attack, and that his approval rating had risen meaningfully as a result. "Busan residents were deceived into casting their votes — their right to vote was stolen," Han said. "If the staged act had been known before the election, far fewer citizens would have voted for Jeong, and the election result may well have been different."

He then said that if police had already known before the election but chose not to investigate or disclose the fact, "that constitutes police interference in an election."

Han called on both police and the Reform Party to reveal when they learned the attack was staged. He said that if either had known before the election, they must take responsibility for infringing on Busan residents' right to political participation.

Lee responded the same day after meeting Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, telling reporters he believed Han's repeated references to the matter served "a different purpose." "I know what his original profession was, but I wish he wouldn't look at things with such a crooked eye," Lee said.

Asked whether the party had been unaware during the campaign that Jeong had staged the attack, Lee said, "We had absolutely no idea." He doubled down, saying, "There is no way that person would have told us, and didn't the police say they never officially notified us? There was no way for us to have known."

Lee added that with the party fielding candidates in the hundreds, isolated cases of misconduct could arise, and said he felt compelled to commit to tightening post-nomination candidate management.

Jeong was arrested Wednesday on charges of staging the attack — obstruction of official duties by deception and violation of the Public Official Election Act — after claiming during the June 3 local election campaign that he had been assaulted. Yoon, a man in his 30s who threw the beverage and had been a close acquaintance of Jeong's for a decade, was also taken into custody.

Jeong had fallen after Yoon, a personal trainer, threw a cup of liquid at him near the Guseo interchange in Geumjeong-gu on the morning of April 27, and was diagnosed with a concussion at a hospital. Suspicions of a staged act emerged after it was later revealed that the two had known each other for more than 10 years.

It has since been confirmed that Jeong appeared before police in mid-May, before election day, and admitted to the charges.

Kim Mi-ae, the People Power Party's floor policy deputy leader, also raised questions at a party floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly, asking why police had not swiftly referred the case for indictment or sought an arrest warrant at the time. "I urge them to explain the reason fully and clearly to the public," she said. Kim also called on the Reform Party to clarify how much it knew about the case in May and what it had been briefed on.

jshan@heraldcorp.com