"No Party Lines in Fighting Corruption," Lee Jae-myung Says... Jin Joong-kwon: "Moon Administration Is an Exception"

Lee Jae-myung "No Party Lines in Eradicating Corruption"
Jin Joong-kwon "Moon Administration Not Subject to Principles"
Jo Gwang-han "Oppression Disguised as Audit"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung is smiling during the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Paldal-gu, Suwon-si, Gyeonggi-do on the 20th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung stated regarding Namyangju City's refusal of an audit, "There can be no distinction between ruling and opposition parties or between allies and opponents when it comes to eradicating illegal administration and corruption." Meanwhile, former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon sharply remarked on the 24th, "The Moon Jae-in administration does not adhere to this principle."

On the same day, former professor Jin shared an article related to Governor Lee's remarks on his Facebook, saying, "There are simply exceptions," expressing this view.

Earlier, on the 23rd, Governor Lee posted on his Facebook under the title "There are no exceptions in eradicating corruption," criticizing Cho Gwang-han, Mayor of Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province. Mayor Cho is a member of the same Democratic Party as Governor Lee.

Governor Lee opened by saying, "There can be no distinction between ruling and opposition parties or between allies and opponents when it comes to eradicating illegal administration and corruption," adding, "In Namyangju, hiring corruption by the mayor was revealed by an internal whistleblower, and the Gyeonggi Province audit judged it as irregular hiring, leading to a police investigation, with the police conducting high-intensity investigations including raids."

He continued, "Namyangju city officials embezzled half of the consolation goods meant for nurses struggling with COVID-19, so Gyeonggi Province demanded severe disciplinary action against the related officials after the audit," criticizing, "Namyangju City made an incomprehensible claim that the legitimate measures based on the audit results were 'political oppression,' and now they even claim that the audit itself is political oppression."

On the 23rd, Jo Gwang-han, mayor of Namyangju City, Gyeonggi Province, is protesting, claiming that the Gyeonggi Province audit is illegal.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "As the responsible authority for investigating and taking action on the illegal and unfair aspects of Namyangju city administration, Gyeonggi Province cannot simply accept or ignore the whistleblowing or claims," explaining, "If the higher authority, Gyeonggi Province, ignores the clues and legitimate whistleblowing and does not conduct an audit on Namyangju, the audit-related officials will be punished for dereliction of duty."

Governor Lee also emphasized, "It is clear that audit officials cannot fabricate corruption where there is none," adding, "If the administration was lawful and legitimate, and if the whistleblowing or reports are mistaken, they should provide a convincing and thorough explanation."

Finally, he stated, "If there is no wrongdoing, there is no need to refuse or obstruct the audit," and said, "If someone uses public office for private gain or engages in illegal administration, regardless of who they are or which side they are on, holding them accountable accordingly is a fair society."

Meanwhile, it has been reported that Mayor Cho is in conflict with Gyeonggi Province over providing the Gyeonggi Province Disaster Basic Income in cash rather than local currency. The province has been conducting a special investigation on Namyangju City from the 16th of last month until the 4th of next month.

Regarding this, Mayor Cho claimed in a message sent to city officials and citizens on the 22nd, "There is a start date for the investigation, but no specified end date. The requested materials include targeted data such as comments on media reports, records of public building rentals, and all sorts of materials related to contempt charges including constitutional court appeal matters."

He criticized, "While investigating comments on media reports, the timing of the comments coincided with the moment when the governor became the top presidential candidate in approval ratings," adding, "Investigating whether there was a political slander intent is a clear human rights violation and an illegal audit."

He continued, "At this level, it is more of a 'repression' disguised as an audit," and said, "It seems this terrifying audit continues because of our city’s conviction to provide emergency disaster support funds in cash last April. Thinking about the pain Namyangju officials are going through makes my heart feel like it is being torn apart."

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