백성현 논산시장 1심 당선 무효형…유권자들에게 명절 선물 건넨 혐의

Bae Seong-hyun, a 66-year-old mayor of Nonsan, received an invalidation verdict on his re-election after receiving a one-point sentence for violating election laws. The Second Criminal Division of the District Court in Daejeon, presided over by judge An Min-young, ruled that Bae must pay a fine of 1.5 million Korean won for giving out money to local residents without proper legal grounds during the Lunar New Year and Mid-Autumn Festival in 2023 and 2024.

Bae is accused of providing 380 million won worth of gifts to hundreds of residents without proper legal justification. According to election laws, local governments cannot give financial gifts to citizens without a legal basis and even if there is legal justification, it cannot be done through a committee head. Bae claimed that this was a customary practice during his tenure and that he did not give any instructions to the officials responsible.

However, the court rejected these claims, stating that the practice seems to have changed after Bae took office and that the officials responsible did not disclose this information. Furthermore, the court pointed out that many recipients of the gifts might have perceived them as personal gifts from Bae himself, not from the city.

The court emphasized that the scale of the misconduct is significant, and Bae's contradictory and unapologetic attitude during the investigation did not help his case. However, the timing of the gift-giving, which was far removed from the election period, works in Bae's favor as the impact on the election is likely minimal. If Bae were convicted of election law violations with a jail term or a fine of 100 million won or more, his election would be invalidated.

After receiving the verdict, Bae said, "I cannot accept the result. I will make my eloquent protests in the appellate court."