The Democratic Party has filed a police complaint against Reform Party presidential candidate Lee Jun-seok, alleging that he violated the nation’s election law by uttering hate speech and false statements.

The legal support team for the party’s election committee announced the move Wednesday, saying Lee is polluting democratic politics in the 21st presidential election.

The team accused the Reform Party contender of making an unspeakable remark during the candidates’ third TV debate, saying it was a serious violation of the Public Official Election Act and constituted hate speech against Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung and his family, as well as against all voters.

The team said the police complaint also concerned statements Lee Jun-seok has made during the campaign about a 2013 sex-bribery scandal in which he was implicated. 

Over the past month, the team said, Lee Jun-seok has repeatedly implied in media interviews that he was cleared of wrongdoing in that case, accusing him of spreading false information to gain an advantage in the presidential election.