NEWS BRIEF

[Anchor Lead]

Police in Bundang, Gyeonggido Province have raided Seongnam City Hall over allegations that former ruling party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung took donations of some 16 billion won through the city's football club from companies such as Doosan and Naver between 2014 and 2016 when he was Seongnam mayor. In return, Lee allegedly offered business favors. Five divisions at City Hall were raided which the police said was part of an additional probe into the case. Lee’s charges were cleared last September but further investigation is ongoing after the main opposition People Power Party filed an objection.
The National Election Commission said today that parliamentary by-elections will take place alongside the June 1 local elections in seven constituencies including districts in Daegu and Incheon. The by-elections are held to fill seats that became vacant between February and April. Public officials planning to run as a candidate must resign from their posts by Monday, which is 30 days prior to the election.
According to Statistics Korea, online shopping transactions jumped 11% on-year in March to record 17.2 trillion won. It’s only the second time ever for the monthly volume to surpass 17 trillion. The first time was last December. Food services in particular rose more than 20% on-year to an all time high in March which the stats agency attributed to the large number of COVID-19 patients isolating and recovering from home during the first quarter.