Seo Byung-su "Busan City, Distortion in Reporting on Hanjin Shipping Acquisition Withdrawal... Malicious Political Offensive"

Metropolitan Governments Lack Legal Grounds for Private Company Takeovers
"Reports Aim to Offset Disadvantage in Busan Mayor By-election"

Seobyungsoo, a member of the People Power Party (Provided by Seobyungsoo's office)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] On the 18th, Seo Byung-soo, a member of the People Power Party, stated, "The article claiming that Busan City tried to acquire Hanjin Shipping but gave up is a clear falsehood," and added, "It is a political attack aimed at overcoming disadvantages in the Busan mayoral by-election."

At a press conference held at the National Assembly that day, Seo said, "There is no legal basis for a metropolitan local government to acquire a private company, so using the term 'acquisition' is a clear falsehood and a distorted report."

He continued, "Although it is true that Busan City, concerned about the crisis in Busan's shipping industry following the bankruptcy of Hanjin Shipping (when the mayor was in office), made fierce efforts to support Hanjin Shipping and the shipping equipment industry, there was never any discussion of acquisition with Busan Port Authority or financial investors."

He also condemned the controversy as a malicious political attack. Seo said, "I have never spoken with Seok Tae-soo, then CEO of Hanjin Shipping, mentioned in the article, nor have I had any related conversations with former Economic Secretary Ahn Jong-beom," adding, "I will take strong legal action against any acts spreading malicious or distorted facts about Busan City and myself for their political purposes in the future."

Seo also stated that he would file a complaint with the Korea Press Arbitration Commission regarding the report and hold responsible parties legally both civilly and criminally.

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