Jeong Yi-han casting campaign: Jeong Yi-han, the Reform Party's candidate for Busan Mayor, campaigns at Gupo Market in Busan on April 29 ahead of the June 3 local elections while wearing a neck cast. [Yonhap News]An arrest warrant has been requested for Jeong Yi-han, the former Reform Party candidate for Busan Mayor, who is suspected of staging an attack after claiming he was assaulted while campaigning for the June 3 local elections.

According to the Busan Geumjeong Police Station on the 7th, the police filed for arrest warrants for former candidate Jeong and an individual identified as 'A', who threw the drink, on the 1st on charges of obstruction of justice by deception and violations of the Public Official Election Act. The prosecution subsequently requested the warrants from the Busan District Court on the 3rd.

It is understood that the police requested the arrest warrants citing concerns over the destruction of evidence and flight risk.

The pre-arrest interrogation for the two suspects, including former candidate Jeong, will be held at the Busan District Court at 2 p.m. on the 8th.

The request for the arrest warrants comes 67 days after the incident occurred and about a month after the election concluded.

On April 27, while campaigning near the Guseo Interchange in Geumjeong-gu, Busan, former candidate Jeong claimed he was struck and collapsed after a driver passing by threw a drink out of a vehicle window.

At the time, his campaign team stated that Jeong had collapsed while trying to avoid the drink, lost consciousness, and was taken to the hospital, where he was diagnosed with a concussion and muscle contusions.

Subsequently, the police, suspecting inconsistencies in the details of the incident, began investigating the relationship between Jeong and 'A', their communication before and after the incident, and the possibility of collusion.

It was revealed that 'A' is a gym trainer and manager who was an acquaintance of former candidate Jeong.

The police are reported to have been verifying whether there was prior collusion based on evidence of communication between the two individuals before the incident.

The day after the election, police raided the office used as the former candidate's campaign headquarters and summoned campaign officials as witnesses to confirm Jeong's condition at the time of the incident and the details of how the media was handled.

Separately, the police are also investigating allegations that employees of affiliates of the On Group, run by Jeong's father, were mobilized for his election campaign, as well as questions regarding the fairness of polling agencies related to him.

In the June 3 local elections for Busan Mayor, former candidate Jeong received 27,418 votes, placing third with 1.56% of the vote.

The Reform Party previously stated that former candidate Jeong has left the party and that they intend to cooperate fully with the investigation.

A police official stated, "This arrest warrant request is limited to the suspicions surrounding the staged terror attack," adding, "We are still investigating the remaining charges."