BOMBSHELL in the Big Apple: NYC Mayor’s Historic Indictment Sparks Global Interest, Including Korea – What’s at Stake

Federal prosecutors say, “Mayor Adams seriously violated public trust”… Additional seizure and search of embassy

Adams explains, “Compliance with election campaign laws,” calls for resignation grow louder within the Democratic Party

The investigation into Mayor Eric Adams (64), who was the first sitting U.S. mayor of New York to be criminally indicted on charges of receiving illegal political funds, is expected to expand to include whether he received inappropriate money or valuables from a total of five countries, including Korea. .

The New York Times (NYT) reported on the 26th (local time) that federal prosecutors, who are investigating whether Mayor Adams colluded with the Turkic government to funnel illegal foreign donations into his campaign, also released information on recent exchanges with five other countries. It was reported that a request was made.

The five countries include Korea, China, Israel, Qatar, and Uzbekistan.

The requests for information from these countries were revealed to have been made through a wide-ranging grand jury subpoena against the mayor and his campaign in July.

The specific scope of the investigation in this regard has not been made public, and the details of the interactions between these countries and Mayor Adams are not yet known.

In the early morning of this day, prosecutors searched and seized the New York mayor’s official residence on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and secured Mayor Adams’ cell phone.

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, said in a briefing that day, “Mayor Adams’ actions were a serious violation of public trust,” and “we will continue the investigation.”

At a press conference held in New York on the 26th (local time), Damien Williams, the Chief U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, explains the main charges against New York City Mayor Eric Adams, who was indicted on charges of bribery and illegally soliciting election donations from foreigners. ⓒ Reuters = News1 ⓒ News1 Correspondent Ryu Jeong-min

Mayor Adams held a press conference in front of the official residence that day and expressed his intention not to resign, saying, “I followed the election campaign rules and laws.”

According to the indictment released by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York on this day, federal prosecutors indicted Mayor Adams on five crimes, including electronic financial fraud, bribery, and illegal election fund raising.

Federal prosecutors have been focusing their investigation on whether Mayor Adams pressured fire officials to approve the construction of the high-rise Türkiye Consulate in midtown Manhattan in return for illegal donations.

Prosecutors are expanding their investigation, believing that Mayor Adams received more than $100,000 (approximately 130 million won) in inappropriate money from government officials and businessmen since 2014, when he was mayor of Brooklyn, New York. Free flights and upgrades that Mayor Adams received from Turkiye Airlines are also under investigation.

Mayor Adams is believed to have raised campaign funds from groups related to the Turkiye government in the 2021 New York mayoral election.

On the 4th of this month, federal prosecutors confiscated the cell phones of the New York City police chief, director, first vice mayor, superintendent, deputy mayor for public safety, and a senior aide who is one of the mayor’s closest associates. As the investigation intensifies, high-ranking New York City administrative officials, including New York Police Commissioner Edward Caban, are resigning.

Within the U.S. Democratic Party, voices calling for Mayor Adams to resign are growing.

This is because, 40 days before the presidential election, the criminal indictment of a mayor belonging to the Democratic Party on charges of receiving illegal funds could be bad news.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (New York) called on Adams to resign that day.

At the briefing on this day, the Akkwan briefly answered a question about the indictment of Mayor Adams by saying, “The U.S. Department of Justice is independent and is handling the case independently.”