Seoul court orders legal proceedings against ruling party lawmakers

SEOUL, Jan. 5 (Yonhap) -- The Seoul High Court on Monday ordered trial
proceedings against two ruling party lawmakers over alleged election law
violations, overturning a decision by the state prosecutors' office.
The actions against Reps. Chung Mong-joon and Ahn Hyoung-hwan came after
prosecutors decided not to file formal indictments, saying the cases against the
Grand National Party (GNP) members were weak. The stance caused the opposition
Democratic Party to ask the courts for arbitration.
Under South Korea's legal process, state prosecutors have the sole right to
indict a person, but in certain cases, the court can order a trial to begin.
The court alleged that Chung, a six-time lawmaker and current head of the
country's football federation, told voters before last year's parliamentary race
that he had received a pledge from Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon about a major
redevelopment project planned for the Sadang and Dongjak regions, but the claims
were not based on fact.
Chung, who gave up his seat in the city of Ulsan to win the GNP ticket for the
districts in southern Seoul, hinted to residents in the two neighborhoods that
they could benefit from a development plan if a ruling party lawmaker were
elected, the court said.
"The mayor did not pledge to Chung that massive development work was planned, but
only outlined that it could be considered down the road pending a stabilization
in the country's real estate prices," said a court official. He said that since
the campaign pledge affected the outcome of the election, it could be considered
a false release of information that conflicting with current election law.
Rep. Ahn also is accused of winning votes last year by claiming that talks were
underway with Mayor Oh on the widescale future development of Seoul's southwest
ward of Geumcheon.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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