Prosecutors have opened a probe into Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon on charges of spreading false information about the Middle East respiratory syndrome.

The investigation came 10 days after the Committee for Innovation of Medical Systems, a doctors’ rights group, lodged a complaint against Park, accusing him of defaming a doctor and inciting fear by publicizing “incorrect” information.

The “incorrect” information referred to the contents of Park’s impromptu press conference on June 4.

Park had claimed that the 35th confirmed MERS patient, a medical doctor at Samsung Medical Center, had come into direct and indirect contact with some 1,565 Seoul residents, possibly exposing them to the virus.

Park said that the doctor had attended a large-scale event despite having shown symptoms for MERS, triggering concerns that the virus might have spread outside medical facilities and into the nation’s capital, which is home to more than 10 million people.

Park added that he would find his “own ways” to protect Seoul residents, calling on the central government to share more information with the public and regional governments.

The doctor, however, refuted the mayor’s claims in follow-up interviews with local media outlets, criticizing Park for witch-hunting and disseminating flawed information without verifying facts.

Some 1,100 participants in the large-scale event, who were placed in isolation for nearly two weeks in the wake of Park’s unexpected announcement, were released from quarantine Sunday after testing negative for MERS.

According to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, a department that deals with defamation suits has taken charge of the case. The prosecution has been vowing stern measures against spiraling rumors about MERS that the government accused of sparking public panic.

Cheong Wa Dae and relevant ministries have voiced opposition against municipalities’ independent actions on MERS that they said could add to public confusion.

The opposition bloc, meanwhile, condemned the prosecutors’ move as “politically motivated.”

Moon Jae-in, leader of the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy, argued that the prosecutors should start a probe into the government, not the mayor.

“It is the government that escalated concerns and fears,” Moon said during the Supreme Council meeting Monday. “The government only attempts to shift its responsibility onto the ministries and private sector without taking control of the situation.”

The main opposition NPAD Rep. Jun Byung-hyun also blasted the government. “The government blames the public for the spread of MERS while it is even failing to take measures for a simple flu,” he said.

“How can the prosecutors probe Park, who took proactive measures to counter the outbreak of MERS?” he added.

Some from the ruling Saenuri Party also echoed similar concerns.

The ruling Saenuri Party Rep. Kim Yong-tae claimed the Seoul mayor enabled the central and regional governments to set up a unified system to respond to the spread of the virus.

“Park must have had circumstantial evidence when he made claims that Seoul citizens might have been exposed to MERS,” he said. “I don’t understand how prosecutors took legal action.”

However, fellow ruling Saenuri Party lawmaker Rep. Ha Tae-kyung charged that it was Park that had political motive by trying to expand his clout.

“I am very concerned that Park is taking advantage of the government‘s botched response to the MERS outbreak to spread propaganda and prompt class conflicts by disseminating unverified information,” Ha said in a meeting with the ruling party’s first-term and second-term lawmakers.

“Class conflicts” refer to Park’s decision to check whether some 2,944 irregular workers at MERS-stricken Samsung Medical Center are infected with the virus. The move came after the 137th confirmed MERS patient, who is on temporary contract, turned out to have carried on working despite having MERS symptoms.

With Park’s efforts to contain the virus widely hailed as proactive, the liberal mayor has emerged as the most favored presidential hopeful for the first time this year, outpacing Saenuri Party’s Kim Moo-sung and NPAD’s Moon Jae-in, according to local pollsters at Gallup.

As of Monday afternoon, the government had reported 16 deaths from MERS in the nation and five additional cases of the disease, pushing the total number of confirmed patients to 150.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)