The prosecution on Thursday raided the office of Gwangju Mayor Kang Un-tae, who is alleged to have been involved in a forgery scandal that allowed the city to win a bid for an international sports event.

The Gwangju City government has been under fire for fabricating signatures of then-Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik and Culture Minister Choe Kwang-shik on bidding documents submitted to the governing body of the 2019 World Swimming Championships.

The Gwangju District Prosecutors’ Office sent investigators to the mayor’s office and the residence of Kim Yoon-seok, who led the organizing committee for the sports event. After analyzing documents seized during the raid, the prosecution will decide whether to question Kang and Yoon on their alleged involvement.

The mayor has denied the allegations against him.

By Cho Chung-un (christory@heraldcorp.com)