Police cleared Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok of allegations that he had a public opinion poll expense paid on his behalf.
On the 22nd, the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Public Crime Investigation Unit said it did not send to prosecutors, on the 25th of last month, the case against the leader over allegations of making false statements under the Public Official Election Act.
The leader faced allegations that during the People Power Party leadership primary in 2021, the poll was provided by "political broker" Myung Tae-gyun, and that a person surnamed Bae, who was preparing to run for Goryeong County governor in North Gyeongsang Province, was made to pay the public opinion poll expense on his behalf. Bae later failed to win the nomination. At a policy debate in April, the leader said of the allegations, "I was not involved."
In response, Oh Sang-jong, head of the Liberty Korea Homeland Guard, filed a complaint accusing the leader of violating the Public Official Election Act, among other charges. The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency then assigned the leader's case to the Public Crime Investigation Unit around May and launched an investigation.
Police determined it was difficult to conclude that the poll in question was conducted solely for the leader. In a notice of investigation results, police said, "It is difficult to see that the suspect directly commissioned this public opinion poll."
Police also found there were no objective materials confirming the leader's knowledge of any payment on his behalf. Police said, "Only speculative statements to the effect that the suspect appears to have had the public opinion poll expense paid on his behalf have been confirmed," adding, "It has not been confirmed whether the suspect recognized the payment on his behalf, and there are no objective materials."