Police raid Jinju City Hall over bribery allegations; mayor's office calls for swift probe

Police raided Jinju City Hall as part of an investigation into allegations that associates of Jinju Mayor Cho Gyu-il solicited bribes during the June 3 local elections. The mayor's office denied all related allegations and called for a swift resolution.

The South Gyeongsang Provincial Police Agency's anti-corruption and financial crime unit raided the city hall's accounting and waterworks divisions Monday morning on suspicion of aggravated bribery under the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Crimes. The search lasted more than two hours, during which police secured contracts and documents related to government-funded construction projects.

The investigation began in May when the People Power Party's South Gyeongsang chapter and the Jinju Administrative Watch Center filed complaints against three individuals — Mayor Cho, a city official identified only as A, and a close associate identified as B — on charges of bribery solicitation and abuse of authority. Civic groups released an audio recording in which official A allegedly demanded 50 million won (about $32,300) per month in exchange for government construction contracts, as well as CCTV footage showing associate B returning a bag of cash to a contractor, raising suspicions of the mayor's involvement.

With the question of Mayor Cho's involvement emerging as the central issue in the investigation, his office made clear Tuesday that it would confront the allegations directly. "There is absolutely no reason to avoid the investigation," a spokesperson for the mayor said. "If the mayor himself needs to be questioned, he will comply at any time, and we hope police will conduct a swift investigation and reach a conclusion."

The spokesperson added that "the other side is spreading false information with a specific agenda." The mayor's election office had already filed complaints with the National Election Commission and police against those involved for allegedly spreading false information during the campaign, completing its legal response.

The mayor's office said it does not plan to issue further statements, as it does not want to repeat unnecessary explanations given his position as a local government head.

Meanwhile, police plan to summon official A, associate B and other individuals for questioning one by one once they finish analyzing the seized materials and documents.