The Cheongdo-gun National Election Commission in North Gyeongsang Province filed a police complaint Wednesday against a county assembly member, identified only as A, and the member's spouse, identified as B, on charges of violating election law.
The two are accused of paying campaign expenses from a personal bank account rather than the registered political funds account, and of exceeding the legal campaign spending limit, in connection with the county assembly election held June 3.
According to a commission official, A and B allegedly paid 1.2 million won ($904) in campaign photo shoot fees from B's personal account and omitted the expenditure from the official accounting report. The official added that when the unreported 1.2 million won is included in the total campaign spending, it pushes the amount beyond one two-hundredth of the legal spending cap — the threshold that triggers a violation under the Public Official Election Act.
Under the Political Funds Act, disbursing political funds outside a designated bank account carries a penalty of up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 4 million won.
Under the Public Official Election Act, a candidate or related party who exceeds the campaign spending limit by one two-hundredth or more faces up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.
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