A joint investigation by prosecutors and police has cleared Democratic Party Rep. Chun Jae-soo of bribery allegations linked to a broader Unification Church scandal.
Investigators announced Friday that the cases against Chun have been closed. Chun, a three-term liberal lawmaker, won his candidacy Thursday to run for the Busan mayoral election in June.
Chun was accused of having received 20 million won ($13,500) in cash and a luxury watch valued at less than 10 million won in 2018 from an official of the Unification Church, allegedly in return for its favors linked to the religious sect's project to build an undersea tunnel linking South Korea and Japan.
The allegation forced Chun, who was President Lee Jae Myung's first oceans minister, to resign from the post in December.
Friday's announcement implied that police had not referred the case to the prosecution, due to a lack of evidence and the statute of limitations. The limitation period for bribes amounting to less than 30 million won is seven years under South Korea's Criminal Act.
Chun said in his statement shortly after the announcement, "Now I can no longer be distracted in doing my jobs."
Later on Friday, Chun met Democratic Party Chair Jung Chung-rae. Chun quoted Jung as saying that he thanked Chun for "withstanding malicious criticisms."
Earlier Thursday, the Democratic Party confirmed that Chun had won the party contest in a two-way race for the Busan mayor candidacy.
consnow@heraldcorp.com
