People Power Party's 'Attack on Lee Jae-myung'... "Choo Mi-ae and the Power-abuse Siamese Twins, Persecution Duo"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, is under heavy fire from the opposition People Power Party regarding the 'special audit' of Namyangju City in Gyeonggi Province. Namyangju City is a place where various allegations of illegal activities have surfaced through media reports and citizen tips.

The Gyeonggi Province, which is conducting a special investigation into Namyangju City, responded with disbelief to the series of distorted remarks made by People Power Party officials.

On the 24th, a provincial official said, "Namyangju City is currently facing allegations such as demands for score manipulation and preferential treatment for the private developer of Zone 2 in the Yangjeong Station area complex development project, collusion suspicions and unfairness in selecting contractors for the Namyangju City art club competition, and local government corruption suspicions in the building permit process in Wolmun-ri, Namyangju City," adding, "Despite this situation, should we refrain from auditing out of concern for abuse of power and audit side effects as some opposition figures claim?"

Earlier, on the 23rd, the Intelligent Crime Investigation Unit of the Northern Gyeonggi Provincial Police Agency sent Namyangju Mayor Cho Gwang-han to the Uijeongbu District Prosecutors' Office with a non-custodial indictment recommendation on charges of obstruction of business and abuse of authority.

Mayor Cho and six others have been under police investigation for allegations including corruption in the hiring of the former audit office chief of Namyangju Urban Corporation. Although Mayor Cho has strongly denied the charges, it is known that the police concluded prosecution based on testimonies and evidence supporting the allegations.

Meanwhile, former lawmaker Park Min-sik (formerly of the Saenuri Party, the predecessor of the People Power Party), Kim Geun-sik, chairman of the People Power Party Songpa-byeong district committee, and Seok Dong-hyun, a lawyer and the People Power Party’s first candidate for the High-ranking Officials Crime Investigation Office, sharply criticized Gyeonggi Province and Governor Lee Jae-myung on the 24th through consecutive SNS posts regarding the special audit of Namyangju City.

Former lawmaker Park said on SNS, "Choo Mi-ae's unreasonable inspection of Yoon Seok-youl is a reckless purge, and Lee Jae-myung's 11 audits of the Namyangju mayor are clearly revengeful power plays filled with personal grudges."

He further added, "Their skills in disguising and whitewashing under the banners of prosecutorial reform and anti-corruption are 100% synchronized," and criticized, "Are Choo Mi-ae and Lee Jae-myung 'power-abuse Siamese twins' or a 'persecution duo'?"

Committee chairman Kim Geun-sik stated, "The foundation of democracy is restraint in institutional authority, but he (Lee Jae-myung) frequently faces allegations of abusing his power," and claimed, "He declared a disaster area to stop the distribution of leaflets to North Korea, preemptively arrested defectors, and his attempt to forcibly hospitalize his brother was also an abuse of authority."

He also said, "Conducting a harsh audit on Namyangju City, which opposes local currency, and applying retaliatory pressure appears to be an abuse of the audit authority of a metropolitan local government," comparing it to "Choo Mi-ae, the obstinate Minister of Justice who recklessly overused her inspection rights to purge Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl."

Lawyer Seok Dong-hyun said, "As Governor Lee said, audits on corruption are naturally necessary," but added, "However, when repeated audits on one institution reach this level, regardless of the initial reason, it becomes an 'Indian rain dance' and eventually a 'targeted audit,' which undermines the credibility of the audit and causes side effects to spread in directions Governor Lee did not anticipate."

He continued, "Governor Lee once criticized 'pro-Japanese collaborators,' but look at the Blue House now, the National Intelligence Service chief, and ruling party lawmakers?they are all making efforts to maintain good relations with Japan," adding, "Compared to last year when there was a huge fuss as if to sever ties, nothing has changed except the change of the Japanese prime minister and the passing of two or three elderly grandmothers."

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