The Incheon Metropolitan City National Election Commission has referred six people to prosecutors over alleged violations connected to the Incheon superintendent of education election held June 3, including providing meals beyond legally permitted allowances to campaign workers and the illegal participation of a community council member in electioneering.
The commission announced Thursday that it had filed a complaint with the Incheon District Prosecutors Office against six individuals, identified only as A and others, on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act.
According to the commission, A and B are accused of providing roughly 500,000 won worth of meals — beyond the statutory allowances and expense reimbursements — to campaign workers and others on behalf of candidate C from May through the election period.
B faces an additional charge of resigning from a community council membership fewer than 90 days before election day, then registering as a campaign worker for the candidate and receiving allowances and expense reimbursements while taking part in campaign activities.
Under the Public Official Election Act, community council members are prohibited from engaging in electioneering, making the timing of B's resignation and the extent of his or her campaign involvement key issues in the case.
A is also accused of directing D to prepay 3 million won to a restaurant near the campaign office, then creating a ledger to allow that amount to be drawn down as meal expenses for campaign workers and others.
The commission believes this arrangement resulted in approximately 3 million won worth of meals being provided beyond what the law permits.
In a separate case, E, F and G are accused of conspiring to distribute meal vouchers to campaign workers and others affiliated with candidate H.
The three allegedly provided vouchers redeemable at a restaurant near the campaign office from April through June 2, amounting to roughly 945,000 won in meals.
The Public Official Election Act prohibits providing money, goods or any other benefit beyond the allowances and expenses prescribed by law in connection with election campaigns.
Violations can result in charges of vote-buying and inducement of interest, carrying a prison term of up to five years or a fine of up to 30 million won.
Donations on behalf of a candidate are also restricted. Campaign managers and others are barred from making donations on a candidate's behalf in connection with the election before the campaign period begins, and from making any donations — whether election-related or not — during the campaign period. Anyone found to have made election-related donations on a candidate's behalf may face up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10 million won.
Electioneering by community council members is likewise prohibited. The Public Official Election Act designates community council members as persons barred from campaign activities, and violations carry a prison term of up to three years or a fine of up to 6 million won.
The commission said it intends to continue investigating election law violations even after the election has concluded.
"We plan to thoroughly investigate and strictly deal with any violations of the Public Official Election Act related to the 9th nationwide simultaneous local elections, even after election day," a commission official said.
gilbert@heraldcorp.com
