▲ The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency raids the city hall in Daegu, some 235 km southeast of Seoul, on June 23, 2023, after accusations arose that Mayor Hong Joon-pyo violated the Public Official Election Act. (Yonhap)

Daegu city hall-police raid

Police raid Daegu City Hall after clash over queer festival

DAEGU, June 23 (Yonhap) -- Police raided the city hall of the southeastern city of Daegu on Friday as part of an investigation into alleged election law violations involving Mayor Hong Joon-pyo.

The Daegu Metropolitan Police Agency sent around 10 investigators to search the city hall in Daegu, some 235 kilometers southeast of Seoul, including the public relations office, at 8:30 a.m.

Officials said the raid was conducted in connection with an election law violation case involving Hong, but the mayor was not subject to the search. They did not elaborate.

But in February, a civic group in Daegu filed a complaint against Hong and a city official in charge of the city's YouTube channel, alleging the channel was being used as a publicity tool for the mayor in violation of the Public Official Election Act.

The police received a raid warrant from the court a week ago and carried it out Friday.

The raid came nearly a week after the city government and police clashed over an annual LGBT festival, with city officials claiming the organizers were illegally occupying a road for the event and police countering that they could use the road as the event was officially sanctioned.

Around 500 officials from the Daegu metropolitan government blocked the main venue where the queer festival was scheduled to be held Saturday, clashing with around 1,500 police personnel dispatched to ensure the event took place.

After Friday's raid, Hong claimed the police were taking revenge on city officials over last week's clash.

"If investigative power is exercised that way, they are not police but gangsters," Hong said in a Facebook post.

The police rejected the claims.

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