Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo [Yonhap]
Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo [Yonhap]

Former Daegu Mayor Hong Jun-pyo, who is defending associates implicated in a political funds law violation case tied to his old presidential campaign, claimed Tuesday that police had placed not only his family but also himself under investigation — and insisted the true perpetrator in the case is someone else.

Hong made the remarks after visiting the Daegu District Public Prosecution Office, where he was asked about his position on the case ahead of a potential indictment decision. "I have looked into everything that happened five years ago," he said, according to Yonhap.

Hong questioned whether prosecutors could properly assess the case under current constraints. "If police edit and piece together a case, can a prosecutor familiarize themselves with the record and make a judgment in a short time?" he said. "Prosecutors have no direct investigative authority. This case will serve as a measure of the prosecution office's role going forward."

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency had earlier referred six people to the prosecution office without detention on charges of illegally disbursing about 200 million won ($144,000) in political funds from Hong's campaign during the People Power Party's 2021 presidential primary. Those referred include four campaign associates surnamed Kim and others, as well as two representatives of an election services firm surnamed Park and others.

Hong took on the defense of those individuals after the case came to light. On Oct. 27, he also appeared alongside two of the suspects — those surnamed Kim and Park — at a pre-arrest warrant hearing.

Hong says management responsibility lies with him, but he trusts his staff

In an earlier Facebook post, Hong expressed regret that the case had resurfaced and said he accepted managerial responsibility for any wrongdoing by his staff. "If there are faults on the part of my employees, the full responsibility for oversight lies with me — but I trust my people," he wrote.

Hong went on to say he was concerned about whether prosecutors could distinguish the guilty from the innocent based solely on police investigation records in a short period of time without supplementary investigative authority. He added that he would resubmit to the prosecution office the evidence of actual transactions presented to the court during the pre-arrest warrant hearing, so that prosecutors could make their own judgment.

He also said the case would likely serve as a benchmark for determining whether the justice system moves toward mandatory indictment — under which prosecutors must indict whenever police refer a case — or retains prosecutorial discretion, allowing prosecutors to re-examine suspects and reach a finding of no charges.


yul@heraldcorp.com