On the 24th, the People Power Party decided to file a criminal complaint against Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea candidate, for disseminating false information regarding his remarks about a 'fraudulent election.' The candidate was accused of supporting the election fraud allegations during the 18th presidential election when Park Geun-hye was elected while he was serving as the mayor of Seongnam, and it is claimed that he provided false explanations during the previous day's TV debate.
The People Power Party's central election committee negative team noted, 'Lee Jae-myung made a false clarification during the TV debate by stating, “What I mentioned about the fraudulent election concerns manipulation by the National Intelligence Service, not ballot manipulation,” and added that they would file a criminal complaint for obvious and intentional lies, which constitute a violation of the election law regarding the dissemination of false information.'
They stated that Lee allegedly posted claims of a fraudulent election on social media at least three times in January 2015 and January 2017 when he was the mayor of Seongnam. At that time, the National Election Commission issued a press release urging him to refrain from raising allegations regarding electoral fraud.
According to the People Power Party, the candidate published posts stating, 'Investigate the perpetrators responsible for election fraud allegations that exceed the fraudulent elections of March 15,' 'National organizations are intervening massively in the election,' 'Ballot manipulation must be prevented,' and 'Evidence justifying suspicions of computerized ballot manipulation is emerging.'
Director General Joo Jin-woo stated, 'I will file a criminal complaint against Lee Jae-myung for lying during the public confirmation hearing in violation of the election law and hold him strictly accountable.'
Earlier, during the TV debate the previous day, the candidate responded to a question from Lee Jun-seok, a candidate from the Reform Party, asking about his position on the 'fraudulent election of the 18th presidential election,' stating, 'I referred to it as a fraudulent election in the sense that the National Intelligence Service manipulated public sentiment through comment manipulation,' and added, '(The election commission) did not manipulate the voting process as the candidates Yoon Seok-yeol or Kim Moon-soo might be concerned about.'