Criminal records found in 26% of local officials in Chungcheong region

An analysis by the Daejeon and Cheonan-Asan Citizens' Coalitions for Economic Justice reveals that 26% of elected officials in the Daejeon, Sejong, and Chungnam regions hold criminal records. Out of 358 winners, 94 individuals possess a total of 135 criminal convictions.

Regional breakdowns show that 29% of winners in Chungnam, 23% in Sejong, and 20% in Daejeon have criminal histories. Among local government heads, the rate is particularly high at 45%. Notably, the Boryeong City Council shows an extreme case where 11 out of 12 members (91.7%) have criminal records.

Common offenses include violations of the Road Traffic Act (30.6%), followed by various other crimes such as violence, economic crimes, and environmental violations. Some individual council members were found to have as many as seven separate convictions. The coalitions attributed these results to opaque nomination processes by major political parties, where candidate morality was allegedly overlooked, and called for stricter standards and increased transparency.