An arrest warrant has been sought for Jeong Yi-han, a former Reform Party candidate for Busan mayor, who claimed to have been attacked while campaigning during the June 3 local elections but has since faced suspicions that the incident was staged.
According to the Busan Geumjeong Police Station on Sunday, police applied Monday for arrest warrants for Jeong and a person identified as A, who threw a beverage at him, on charges of obstruction of official duties by deception and violating the Public Official Election Act. Prosecutors requested the warrant from the Busan District Court on Wednesday. The court's pre-detention questioning of the suspects will be held at 2 p.m. on Thursday at the Busan District Court.
Jeong claimed that on April 27, while campaigning near the Guseo interchange in Busan's Geumjeong district, he collapsed after being struck by a beverage thrown from a passing vehicle. His campaign said at the time that he had fallen while trying to avoid the beverage, suffering a concussion and muscle contusion.
However, police, seeing questionable points in the circumstances of the case, investigated the possibility of prior collusion by analyzing the relationship between Jeong and A, as well as their contact records before and after the incident. A is known to be a gym trainer and director who is acquainted with Jeong.
Police continued their investigation, searching the campaign office the day after the election and questioning officials as witnesses, and are said to have applied for the arrest warrant after determining there was a risk of evidence destruction and flight.
Separately, police are also investigating the mobilization of employees from affiliates of On Group, run by Jeong's father, for campaign activities, as well as suspicions over the fairness of a polling agency.
However, this arrest warrant is limited to charges related to the alleged faked attack. "We are also investigating the remaining charges," a police official said.
Jeong won 27,418 votes, or 1.56 percent, in the Busan mayoral race in the June 3 local elections. The Reform Party previously said that Jeong had already left the party and that it would cooperate with the investigation.
