A descendant of an independence activist filed a police complaint on the 29th accusing Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Incheon mayor, of violating the Public Official Election Act (publication of false information). The complaint said Park leveraged a 22nd-cousin relationship with an independence activist for electioneering.
Park Gi-hyeon, the fifth-generation direct descendant of independence activist Park Jin-hae, held a press conference in front of the Incheon Metropolitan Police Agency that day and said, "Park saying that he is a descendant of an independence activist based on a 22nd-cousin relationship is nothing but emotional marketing to win votes."
He went on, "My great-great-grandfather, Park Jin-hae, led the March 1 Independence Movement in 1919 in Yean-myeon, Andong, was arrested, served a one-year prison term, and received the Order of Merit for National Foundation, Medal of Patriotism," adding, "(Park's conduct) could tarnish the honor of the real descendants."
Park demanded an official apology from Park and a clear explanation of the blood ties.
Ahead of the June 3 local elections, the Democratic Party and People Power Party candidates for Incheon mayor are sparring over independence activist lineage. Yoo Jeong-bok, the People Power Party's Incheon mayoral candidate, said at a press conference on the 28th, "For more than 10 years, Park has claimed to be a descendant of independence activist Seokju Lee Sang-ryong and has treated it as a political asset, but it has been confirmed that in reality the relationship is nothing more than a '22nd-degree collateral line.'"
In response, Park's election committee countered by citing an interview in which Lee Chang-su, a direct great-great-grandson of Lee Sang-ryong, said, "(Park's maternal family) helped us in every possible way when we were struggling the most, and this is not a relationship that can be explained by degree of kinship, so I don't understand why it has become a point of contention."
Park's campaign added, "Even though a principal figure in history is speaking directly, Yoo is trying to erase a hundred years of history by pointing to a single number in the family registry."