Police cleared the allegation that at a book launch held at the National Assembly, envelopes containing more money than the price of the book were received.
According to police and others on the 7th, the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul on the 30th of last month forwarded without indictment a complaint against Rep. Seo for alleged violations of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, the Political Funds Act, and bribery, concluding there was "no suspicion."
On the alleged violation of the Political Funds Act, police judged that "(even considering the National Election Commission's view or Supreme Court precedents) the amount received as the price of books at a publication commemoration event is to congratulate the author's publication and cannot be seen as part of political activity."
On the graft law allegation, police said, "(In the video footage) participants are seen putting white envelopes containing as little as 50,000 won and as much as 150,000 won into a cash collection box, but there is no confirmation that Rep. Seo directly received all proceeds from book sales, nor any circumstance indicating that the funds were paid to Rep. Seo."
Police added, "It is difficult to conclude that the money exchanged on site was provided directly to Rep. Seo, and it is merely that the publisher paid royalties after selling the books under the publishing contract, so it is hard to deem this a violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act."
Regarding the bribery allegation, police explained, "It cannot be considered that money or valuables were provided in connection with official duties."
Rep. Seo held a book launch at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeouido, Seoul, in Feb. At the event, reports showed envelopes containing more money than the list price of 25,000 won being placed into a cash collection box, prompting suspicion.
In response, Kim Jeong-cheol, a supreme council member of the Reform Party at the time, filed a complaint against Rep. Seo, saying, "Receiving an amount that significantly exceeds the book price clearly raises the possibility of violating the Political Funds Act."