'Suspicion of False Residency' Kang Sun-woo, Now Reported to Police... Violation of Resident Registration Act and Public Official Election Act

[Financial News]  Kang Sun-woo, candidate for Minister of Gender Equality and Family, is expected to be investigated by the police for suspicion of false residency. This follows claims that his family resides in Jongno-gu, Seoul, instead of their registered residence in Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

On the 14th, an online community posted an article stating that a complaint against candidate Kang was submitted to the Seoul Gangseo Police Station through the National Sinmungo. The complaint includes allegations of violating the Resident Registration Act and the Public Official Election Act, as well as charges of teaching and aiding under the Criminal Act.

The person who submitted the complaint, Mr. A, argued that "securing voting rights through false residency fundamentally undermines the fairness and legitimacy of elections."

He continued, "If a high-ranking public official's family attempted to manipulate electoral districts or strategically move voters in this way, it could be considered an organized and political illegal act beyond a mere personal deviation," emphasizing that it is "a serious crime that severely undermines the public's political trust."

This complaint was filed after National Assembly's Gender Equality and Family Committee member Seo Myung-ok of the People Power Party raised suspicions of false residency against candidate Kang. According to the disclosed data, the registered residence of candidate Kang, his husband, daughter, and mother is reported as A Apartment in Hwagok-dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul.

However, their actual residence was different. According to candidate Kang's personnel hearing request property declaration details, his husband was renting B Apartment and C Officetel located in Jongno-gu, Seoul.



Candidate Kang responded regarding the purpose of the lease, "My spouse and daughter reside in B Apartment, and my mother resides in C Officetel." The only person actually residing in A Apartment was candidate Kang himself.

Particularly, it was revealed that candidate Kang's husband and daughter signed a lease contract for B Apartment in Jongno-gu with a deposit of 50 million won and a monthly rent of 4.5 million won on the same day they reported moving into A Apartment on June 10, 2022. The C Officetel, where the mother actually resides, was contracted on April 28, 2021, with a deposit of 20 million won and a monthly rent of 1.53 million won.

According to Article 37 of the Resident Registration Act, if one registers residency falsely or duplicates it, they can be sentenced to up to three years in prison or fined up to 30 million won.

The opposition party also raised suspicions that candidate Kang transferred his family to the constituency ahead of the general election. Hwagok-dong is part of the Gangseo-gap constituency, where candidate Kang won the 21st and 22nd general elections, and the mother's transfer report to Hwagok-dong was made on April 10 last year, just one month before the 22nd general election. According to the election commission regulations, the transfer report must be completed by March 19 last year to vote at the new address, which was only two weeks apart.

Mr. A stated, "If false residency and voting rights exercise are confirmed, candidate Kang's family could be charged with violating 'Article 37, Paragraph 1, Subparagraph 3-2 of the Resident Registration Act' (false transfer report) and 'Article 247 of the Public Official Election Act (false registration and false seal crime) Paragraph 1.'" He added, "As candidate Kang himself was aware of the family's transfer facts and residence status, he could also be held responsible for 'teaching or aiding' under Articles 31 and 32 of the Criminal Act."

He further stated, "I strongly request that investigative agencies conduct a comprehensive and swift investigation to uncover the substantive truth, and if violations are confirmed, take strict measures according to the law, including criminal punishment."

y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter