Police are set to summon Shin Yong-chul, head of the National Credit Union Federation of Korea (Shinhyup), for questioning soon. While investigating Choi, a planning director at Shinhyup, on suspicion of violating the Public Official Election Act for Entrusted Elections (Entrusted Election Act), police determined that Shin is suspected of the same offense and decided to question him.
According to reporting compiled by ChosunBiz on the 18th, the Dunsan Police Station in Daejeon recently contacted Shin and set a date for questioning.
An official at the Dunsan Police Station said, "While investigating the case of Choi, whose criminal complaint for violating the Entrusted Election Act was filed first, we identified that Shin also appears to be suspected of the same offense. Depending on the outcome of the investigation, there is a possibility we will designate Shin as a suspect and launch a full-scale probe."
Because the statute of limitations in Shin's case expires on July 6, the Dunsan Police Station is concentrating its investigative resources. The statute of limitations for violating the Entrusted Election Act is six months from election day, and the election for the 34th Shinhyup chairman, which Shin won, was held on Jan. 7.
The Shinhyup labor union claims that Choi and Shin committed election law violations together. The union filed a complaint against Choi first at the end of May and is now preparing a complaint against Shin. A union official said, "Our goal is to file a complaint this week accusing Shin of violating the election law. However, depending on how the complaint preparation goes, the timeline could slip to next week."
The union claims that when Shin was a candidate for the next chairman, he directed Choi, then the standing auditor at Gwangju Munhwa Credit Union, to carry out illegal campaign activities. It says that even though it was not the campaign period, Shin had Choi approach the chairs of local credit unions nationwide and closely manage them to secure their support for him.
A Shinhyup official said, "At present, the case consists only of the union's statement and claims. There has been no internal review or official position on the related allegations so far."
Credit union unit chairs exercise direct voting rights in the chairman election. Chairs of roughly 800 unit credit unions nationwide elect the chairman by vote. In January, Shin won with 301 out of 784 total votes (38.4%). Anyone who violates Article 24 (subjects, period, and methods of campaigning) of the Entrusted Election Act is subject to up to two years in prison or a fine of up to 20 million won.