Police raid Daegu city hall amid tension over Pride parade

Mayor blasts Daegu police for 'inappropriate law enforcement, retaliatory investigation'

Investigators leave Daegu City Hall with documents after a seizure and search, Friday. (Yonhap)

Police raided Daegu City Hall on Friday over a police investigation into the city's mayor, six days after scuffles broke out between police officers and city hall officials during the Daegu Pride Parade.

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency sent about 10 investigators and raided several offices from 9 a.m. at Daegu City Hall. The search and seizure was in connection with an investigation into Mayor Hong Joon-pyo’s alleged violation of the Public Official Election Act.

Hong, in a Facebook post Friday, called the investigation into him a retaliation for the scuffles that broke out between Daegu City Hall officials and Daegu police officers at the Daegu Queer Culture Festival on June 17.

“The Daegu Metropolitan Police chief's inappropriate law enforcement and retaliatory investigation are deplorable. He not only suppressed the legitimate work of Daegu officials under the support of a left-wing organization, but is also investigating the city administration in retaliation,” Hong wrote.

"All employees of the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency are prohibited from entering Daegu City Hall," he added.

The police has claimed the raid is part of an investigation into a case in which a civic group filed a complaint to the prosecution on Feb. 22 against Hong for violating the Public Official Election Act.

"Mayor Hong kept making strange interpretations of the law to criticize the proper police management of the legitimate queer festival, and now he is undermining the legitimate search and seizure as a retaliatory investigation," Daegu police said in a statement in response to Hong.

"Are the prosecutors and courts involved in issuing raid warrants also accomplices in the retaliatory investigation?"

Last week, organizers of the Queer Culture Festival had tried to bring in a vehicle to set up the stage in downtown Daegu when they were met with about 500 Daegu City officials who blocked them from entering the venue. The city officials claimed the organizers were illegally occupying the road.

About 1,500 police officers who were dispatched at the scene clashed with the Daegu city officials, saying the event was permitted and they should guarantee the freedom of legitimate assembly.

After the scrimmage, Hong demanded Kim Soo-young, chief of the Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency, be sacked. Three Daegu city officials were injured during the collision, he said.

"The law guarantees freedom of assembly and demonstration, but it is unfair to occupy the roads without permission. We will ask the Ministry of Government Legislation to interpret (the issue of road occupancy) and hold the Daegu police chief legally and administratively responsible according to the results of the interpretation," Hong told reporters Sunday.

At the time, civic groups claimed that Daegu City's official YouTube channel had become a channel solely to promote Hong after his inauguration. They alleged that content about Daegu City had been taken down, and instead were replaced with videos promoting Hong.

One of the civic groups claimed the channel has violated the obligation of public officials to be politically neutral, "seriously undermining" the public nature of the city’s official social media. Hong is suspected of ordering or overlooking the inappropriate privatization of the city’s social media.

By Lee Jung-youn(jy@heraldcorp.com)