Presidential office denies town halls are electioneering

The presidential office on Thursday rebuffed criticism that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s town hall meetings with the public to discuss livelihood issues are intended to garner support for the People Power Party ahead of the April 10 general election.

Rep. Jeon Yong-gi of the liberal Democratic Party speaks to reporters before submitting his party's criminal complaint against President Yoon Suk Yeol to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Thursday. [NEWS1]

The presidential office on Thursday rebuffed criticism that President Yoon Suk Yeol’s town hall meetings with the public to discuss livelihood issues are intended to garner support for the conservative People Power Party (PPP) ahead of the April 10 general election.

The presidential office issued its stance in response to a criminal complaint filed the same day by the liberal Democratic Party (DP) accusing Yoon of illegal electioneering through the town halls.

A presidential official who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity said that it is “misleading to say that the current series of public livelihood debates are being held for election-related purposes,” noting that the president previously held “other kinds of town hall meetings with various groups of people, including unemployed youth, market vendors and others from diverse professional backgrounds and age groups to facilitate communication with members of the public.”

According to the official, the president’s current town hall meetings “are intended to help the government better understand and address public livelihood issues.”

Regarding criticism that the meetings have not yet taken place in the Gangwon and Jeolla regions, the official said that presidential town halls will take place in those regions “when there is a policy meaningful enough announced to the local area.”

The Jeolla region, which encompasses North and South Jeolla provinces as well as Gwangju, has traditionally voted heavily in favor of the DP, which currently holds a majority in the National Assembly and is the largest party in opposition to the Yoon administration.

The official denied that local government leaders aligned with the DP had been deliberately not invited to the president’s town halls, claiming that invitations to the meetings are “not sent based on political rank, but rather to those who can relay a story or experience that government policies should address.”

The official also said the meetings will continue despite the criticism.

In its criminal complaint, the DP accused the president of illegally campaigning in favor of conservatives by holding its town halls in areas that the PPP is eyeing as crucial battlegrounds in the upcoming general election.

The DP also accused the president of violating election laws by promising 800,000 won ($600) for master’s students and 1.1 million won for doctoral candidates in science and engineering fields every month.

“Such pledges are prohibited by the Public Official Election Act, which bans targeted funding promises when an election is imminent,” the party’s leadership said in an announcement, adding that the law also bans civil servants from using their official role or position to “wield unfair influence” during elections.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]