▲ Ha Yun-su, the education chief in the southeastern city of Busan, leaves the Busan District Court on Sept. 8, 2023, after being sentenced to 700 million won (US$5,252) in fines for violating the election law. (Yonhap)

Busan-education chief

Busan's education chief fined for premature electioneering

BUSAN, Sept. 8 (Yonhap) -- Busan's education chief was sentenced to 700 million won (US$5,252) in fines Friday for using a private education forum for his election campaign, a sentence that would remove him from office if finalized at the Supreme Court.

Superintendent Ha Yun-su of the office of education in the southeastern city was indicted in November last year on charges of premature electioneering for using the education forum he founded in 2021 for his campaign for last year's local elections.

The Busan District Court said the nature of Ha's crime is "very bad" in that he "artificially interfered with the course of opinion forming, which is the basis of democracy."

By law, elected officials are stripped of their positions if sentenced to a fine of 1 million won or more for violating the election law.

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