Jung Chung-rae of the Democratic Party of Korea and Ha Jung-woo, the Busan Buk-gu-gap district Chairperson, who were accused of child abuse for telling a first-grade elementary school student during the June 3 by-election campaign to call them "oppa," were cleared of charges.
According to the Busan Metropolitan Police Agency on the 21st, police on June 17 decided not to refer Representative Jung and Chairperson Ha to prosecutors over alleged violations of the Child Welfare Act (emotional abuse).
Police said that after comprehensively reviewing the two people's remarks and the situation at the scene, it was difficult to deem the conduct abusive and also difficult to conclude it hindered the child's development. Prosecutors reviewed the police's non-referral records and returned the case file to police on the 14th, bringing the case to a final close.
The controversy arose during a campaign event at Gupo Market in Busan on May 3. At the time, Representative Jung pointed to Chairperson Ha and told a first-grade elementary school girl, "This is Jung-woo oppa. Try saying oppa," and Chairperson Ha also said "oppa" beside her.
The two apologized to the child and her parents that afternoon. But afterward, a conservative-leaning parents' group, the Coalition for the Protection of the Rights of Students, Parents and Teachers, filed a complaint with the Supreme Prosecutors' Office accusing them of emotional child abuse, prompting an investigation.