This article was displayed on the ChosunBiz RM Report website at 2:14 p.m. on Jun. 16, 2026.
O Eon-seok, the mayor of Dobong District (People Power Party), filed a police complaint against Kim Dong-uk, the Dobong District mayor-elect (Democratic Party of Korea), on suspicion of violating the Public Official Election Act's ban on "door-to-door visits." O's side argued that Kim's act of going around department offices inside Dobong District Office on the first day of official campaigning for the 9th nationwide local elections (the Jun. 3 local elections) to greet people constitutes door-to-door visits for campaign purposes.
According to the complaint submitted to police on the 16th, on the first day of the official campaign, on the 21st of last month, the mayor-elect Kim went around several department offices inside Dobong District Office and greeted employees.
The complaint stated, "Kim Dong-uk (then the candidate) wore clothing displaying name, number, and party and toured each department office to greet public officials while they were on duty," adding, "These are circumstances indicating a campaign purpose."
O's side argued that Kim's actions constitute "door-to-door visits" prohibited under the Public Official Election Act. Article 106 of the Public Official Election Act bans anyone from making door-to-door visits for campaign purposes. Violations are punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to 6 million won.
The issue is whether department offices inside Dobong District Office fall under a "household" under the Public Official Election Act. Under Supreme Court precedent, "household" can include not only private homes but also government office workplaces used for business.
The case of Choi Min-hee, a lawmaker with the Democratic Party of Korea, is representative. In Jan. 2016, ahead of the 20th National Assembly election, Choi was brought to trial on charges including distributing business cards as she went around 10 offices inside the city hall, including the mayor's office, after holding a candidacy press conference in the Namyangju City Hall press room.
In the first and second trials, the courts found that Namyangju City Hall offices could not be seen as places or spaces freely open to ordinary civil petitioners and ruled they constituted door-to-door visits. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court's decision.
Park Kang-su, the mayor of Mapo District, was also sentenced to a fine at first instance after his act of going around district office rooms to greet people ahead of the 2022 8th nationwide local elections was recognized as door-to-door campaign activity.
Attorney Kim Yeon-gi of law firm Chungjeong said, "Given that (the mayor-elect Kim) toured offices inside the district office wearing candidate attire after the start of the campaign period, it appears structurally similar to prior cases found to violate the Public Official Election Act."
O's side also asked police to apply for preservation of evidence, saying objective materials such as related closed-circuit (CC) TV footage need to be secured quickly.
Kim's side said, "This is a matter currently under investigation," adding, "We will wait until specific investigative details emerge."
The mayor-elect Kim and Mayor O faced off in the Jun. 3 local elections. In the Dobong District mayoral race in the Jun. 3 local elections, the mayor-elect Kim won 89,126 votes, defeating Mayor O (81,809 votes).