BUSAN — Chung Yi-han, a former Reform Party candidate for Busan mayor who has been indicted on charges of staging a fake drink attack ahead of the June 3 local elections, worked out detailed plans with an accomplice beforehand — from the type of drink to the car's route, the clothing and even the lines to be spoken, according to prosecutors.
According to the indictment in Chung's case, released on the 26th, Chung in early April floated the idea to a man identified as A, whom he knew as a gym trainer, of staging a scene in which he would be attacked during campaigning. Between the 25th and 26th of the same month, investigators found, Chung asked A to carry out the actual act.
The plan was specific. Instead of a drink such as water that would leave no trace, Chung asked A to "throw something that leaves color, like green tea latte," and told him to lower the car window and spray the drink at his face as he handed over a business card. He even specified that the car should approach through the left-turn lane so it would be in a good position for the act.
The lines to be used during the incident were also set. Chung judged that if A sprayed the drink while saying, "How can a young punk like you be a mayor?", it would help raise his own name recognition. He reassured A that he would use someone else's car and wear a hat, while making sure his aides would not approach the vehicle involved.
Their assessment of criminal liability was also cavalier, according to the account. When A said that if the act were caught, "at most it would come out as assault," Chung said in effect that he would ask for leniency to wrap up the case quickly and that "I will take full responsibility," prosecutors determined.
The act itself took place around 8:06 a.m. on April 27. A drove a rented K5 he had prepared in advance and approached the campaign site, and when Chung handed over a business card through the open driver's-side window, A delivered the scripted lines and then sprayed an iced green tea latte at Chung's face. A then threw a plastic cup and a boiled egg, and Chung stepped back, tripped on the road curb and fell.
From immediately after the act, the two kept up the pretense of a "spontaneous crime." After police arrested A, they showed Chung a photo and asked whether he knew the person, to which Chung replied, "I do not know him at all." A likewise gave statements as if the act had been impulsive, saying, "I saw from the business card that he was a mayoral candidate, and he looked so young that it annoyed me." A also claimed the green tea latte and boiled egg were things he had bought earlier to eat that morning.
Police pressed A on whether he had acted on someone's request or instructions, but A denied it. In questioning the next day, he continued to claim it was a spontaneous crime, saying he had committed a violent act because he was in a bad mood. Chung's spouse also wrote a petition requesting leniency for A after being told that the incident was staged, the indictment stated.
Chung then also spread the false claim of a spontaneous attack to the media. Prosecutors found that Chung made false statements a total of seven times through broadcast and other media outlets between April 28 and May 11.
In the process, 18 police officers were deployed to the scene, and authorities secured and analyzed closed-circuit (CCTV) footage, tracked vehicles, conducted a forensic examination of the scene, had evidence analyzed by the National Forensic Service, and carried out extensive canvassing and interviews with people involved. The National Intelligence Service and a counterterrorism council also joined the response, the indictment stated.
That is the background to charges tied to serious crimes — including obstructing the freedom of elections and interfering with the execution of official duties — going well beyond the "assault" level the two had initially taken lightly. The first hearing in Chung's case will be held on the 15th of next month.
