Reform Party candidate Bang In-seop among those reported to police
Camp vows legal action 'regardless of election outcome'
![Im Hyeon-cheol, the People Power Party candidate for Ulsan Nam-gu district chief, holds a press conference at the Ulsan City Council press center on Monday, calling for an end to political attacks and saying that using his corrected asset registration to push a "by-election is inevitable" narrative amounts to deceiving Nam-gu residents. [Provided by Ulsan City Council]](https://wimg.heraldcorp.com/news/cms/2026/06/03/news-p.v1.20260603.a54b0d6e1e824485ba20cf7989d126be_P1.png)
Im Hyeon-cheol, the People Power Party candidate for Ulsan Nam-gu district chief, filed police complaints against a rival candidate and an unidentified individual, accusing them of running what amounts to a campaign to defeat him over an omission in his asset disclosure.
Im's camp filed separate complaints Monday with the Ulsan Nambu Police Station against Bang In-seop, the Reform Party candidate for Nam-gu district chief, and an unidentified person on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act by spreading false information.
According to the complaints, Bang hung banners in key areas of Nam-gu reading "17 billion won in debt omitted from asset filing — Im Hyeon-cheol must take responsibility and step down," while the unidentified individual sent mass text messages stating: "Election commission confirms omission from asset filing. Even after correction, Article 250, Paragraph 1 of the election law carries up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 30 million won. Do you want a by-election in Nam-gu?"
Im's camp said the omitted debt stemmed from a corporate joint-and-several guarantee obligation that arose roughly 20 years ago when the candidate served as head of the Samsan Bon-dong land readjustment project, a long-sought community initiative in the district. The accounting officer had determined the debt was not subject to disclosure, but it has since been reflected in a corrected asset filing. "The respondents have completely distorted the facts, spreading falsehoods and misleading voters," the camp said in explaining the basis for the complaints.
The camp added that mass-distributing inflammatory text messages just before the election — suggesting that even a victory would trigger a by-election — constituted a malicious effort to defeat the candidate and deceive voters. "To protect the candidate's reputation and uphold a fair election culture, we will pursue full legal accountability regardless of the outcome of this election," it said.
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