Police decided Friday to refer a Korean American pastor at the center of a luxury bag scandal involving first lady Kim Keon Hee to the prosecution on charges of illegal electioneering ahead of April’s general elections.

The pastor, named Choi Jae-young, was accused of engaging in election campaigns for Choi Jae-kwan, a main opposition Democratic Party (DP) candidate for the Gyeonggi Province constituency of Yeoju and Yangpyeong, during a lecture in February.

Choi also allegedly defamed Rep. Lee Chul-gyu of the ruling People Power Party by claiming that the first lady had helped Lee get the party’s election nomination during a lecture in March.

The Gyeonggi Nambu Provincial Police said it will refer Choi to the prosecution later Friday on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act and defamation.

In June, police questioned Choi as a suspect in the case for some nine hours.

Choi denied both charges, saying he had only said the DP candidate would be the person most fit to look into suspicions su
rrounding an expressway construction project in the county of Yangpyeong as someone who has lived for years in the area.

The allegation centers on claims that the route of the envisioned expressway connecting Seoul and Yangpyeong, 52 kilometers east of Seoul, has been changed to eventually increase the prices of land owned by the first lady’s family.

Choi also claimed he had only briefly mentioned the allegations involving Rep. Lee in the public sphere after receiving a tip-off on the matter.

Meanwhile, the pastor is also under investigation on charges, including trespassing and stalking, in connection with the luxury bag scandal involving the first lady.

Source: Yonhap News Agency