Chun Ha-ram, floor leader and acting chair of the Reform Party, visited Busan to renew his apology over the case involving former Busan mayoral candidate Jeong Yi-han.
Meeting residents on the 2nd in front of Sejeong Tower near Guseo Station in Busan's Geumjeong district, Chun said, "I deeply apologize to the people of Busan for a wrong nomination for Busan mayor."
"The Reform Party should have carried out a more thorough and careful vetting when it nominated a candidate for Busan mayor," Chun said. "But we failed to do so."
He added, "We ended up nominating a candidate who did something that should never have been done — staging an incident. It is late, but I came here to apologize directly to the people of Busan."
"Guseo Station in particular is the place where Jeong Yi-han, then our Busan mayoral candidate, staged the incident," he said. "It is a devastating matter, but I thought it was only right to come in person to the place where the grave wrongdoing occurred and apologize."
Jeong, who ran as the Reform Party's Busan mayoral candidate in the June 3 local elections, conspired with an acquaintance to fake a "drink attack," creating a scene in which he appeared to be assaulted while campaigning. Investigated after evidence of the staging emerged, Jeong was indicted and detained on charges including obstruction of official duties by deception and violation of the Public Official Election Act.
