Yang Jeong-suk Real Estate Nominee Trust Controversy... Democratic Party "Verification Was Inadequate"

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeon Jinyoung] Following former Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don’s voluntary resignation due to sexual harassment, the ruling party faced consecutive setbacks with Yang Jeong-sook’s 'real estate controversy.' Remarks acknowledging inadequate verification of Yang by the Democratic Party leadership also emerged. The Democratic Party and the Together Citizens’ Party hastily engaged in 'cutting off the tail' by expelling Yang after former Mayor Oh, but the controversy is unlikely to subside easily.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Song Gap-seok, spokesperson for the Democratic Party, stated after the Supreme Council meeting on the 29th that they would discuss an apology at the leadership level. Song said, "It is true that the party failed to properly filter candidates," adding, "Party leader Lee Hae-chan said there should be an expression of regret and apology from the party." Yoon Ho-jung, secretary-general of the Democratic Party, also told reporters that day, "Since she was a proportional representation candidate in the 20th general election and later worked in the legal committee, I think the verification was insufficient."

The Citizens’ Party held a Supreme Council meeting at 4 p.m. at the Yeouido party headquarters and approved the expulsion of Yang, as decided by the Ethics Committee the previous day. The Supreme Council also planned to conclude on the criminal charges against Yang recommended by the Ethics Committee. The Ethics Committee pointed out that suspicions of submitting false documents and nominee trust issues might violate current laws. This action was taken less than two weeks after Yang was elected in the April 15 general election. Yang initially chose to 'hold firm.' After completing her explanation to the Ethics Committee on the 28th, she told reporters, "I have explained all the real estate-related matters. There is no illegal issue at all." Regarding the resignation recommendation, she dismissed it, saying, "I am from the Democratic Party. Since a merger is expected in about two weeks, I want to return to the Democratic Party first, discuss, and then decide."

Yang, who sparked controversy over 'real estate suspicions,' is a lawyer by profession and has served as secretary-general of the Legal Ethics Council and vice president of the Korean Women Lawyers Association. She actively worked on resolving issues related to comfort women as a special committee member for Japanese colonial victims’ human rights under the Korean Bar Association and represented Hansen’s disease patients who underwent forced pregnancy terminations and sterilizations, securing the first state compensation ruling.

Yang, who gained attention as a 'human rights lawyer,' ran as the 19th candidate on the Democratic Party’s proportional representation list in the 2016 20th general election but was not elected. In January this year, she was appointed as a non-standing commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Korea, recommended by the Democratic Party. However, she resigned from the human rights commissioner position, which was confirmed by a plenary vote, after 42 days and applied for the Democratic Party’s proportional representation nomination, drawing criticism for 'building election credentials.' She later ranked 5th in the vote determining proportional candidate order, entered the winning zone, transferred her party affiliation to the Citizens’ Party, a proportional party, ran as the 15th candidate, and was elected.

Although the party quickly moved to expel her, the controversy over 'candidate verification failure' resurfaced. The fact that Yang belonged to the Democratic Party’s 'talent pool,' having run as a proportional representative in the 20th general election, and passed the Democratic Party’s proportional representation screening process for the 21st general election indicates that the party was sufficiently aware of the issues. Ahead of the April 15 general election, the Democratic Party had already faced a 'verification controversy' while recruiting external talents and screening preliminary candidates. At that time, Won Jong-geon, the 'second recruit,' resigned amid dating violence allegations, and the Democratic Party’s verification committee faced criticism for approving a preliminary candidate despite issues related to sexual harassment remarks, leading to a re-examination.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.