Yoon Hee-sook: "I will disclose everything... If cleared of charges, ruling party politicians should resign"

"Will readily agree to internal network access records, house search, etc."
"Is it a politician to throw around serious criminal charges carelessly?"
"Will return profits to society," father’s handwritten letter revealed

Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party who declared her resignation from the National Assembly and withdrawal from the presidential preliminary race, is leaving the Communication Hall at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 27th after holding a press conference regarding allegations of land speculation involving her father. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] Yoon Heesook, a member of the People Power Party who announced her intention to withdraw from the presidential primary and resign from her parliamentary seat amid allegations of real estate speculation involving her father, demanded, "If it is proven that there is no suspicion, all Democratic Party politicians who conspired to spread false slander should resign from their parliamentary seats." Yoon also revealed a handwritten letter from her father, who pledged to return all excess profits generated from investments to society.

On the 27th, Yoon wrote on her Facebook, "I am now requesting an investigation on myself by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO). If the CIO cannot handle it, I will request the Joint Investigation Headquarters again," adding, "This is my politics that upholds the people's standards without vested interests."

Regarding her father's speculation allegations, she emphasized, "I will submit anything necessary for clarification," and said, "Investigate thoroughly whether money was contributed to the real estate transactions or if the properties were owned under a borrowed name. Please promptly disclose the internal network access records from that time. Search our house as well. My parents' home will also gladly consent to a search."

She continued, "If a thorough investigation reveals no charges, all Democratic Party politicians who conspired to spread false slander should resign from their parliamentary seats while laughing," and criticized, "Is it appropriate for politicians to recklessly throw around such serious criminal allegations?"

She further claimed, "What does it mean that Woo Won-sik, the election countermeasures committee chairman of Lee Jae-myung's camp, Kim Nam-guk, the chief of staff, and spokesperson Nam Young-hee took the lead in the slander?" and added, "It means that Lee Jae-myung's camp itself is a camp where they sit together and plot dirty conspiracies."

Handwritten letter from Yoon's father disclosed by Representative Yoon / Photo by Hee-sook Yoon, Facebook capture

Yoon also disclosed a handwritten letter from her father. In the letter, Yoon's father wrote, "I did not expect that preparing for the twilight of life while living an ordinary old age would cause such a big upheaval," and apologized, "As a father, I am sorry for causing great pain to my daughter, who is an outsider."

He also requested, "Please look widely and consider that it is not my daughter’s fault but that of a foolish father," and promised, "I will return all profits from the farmland involved in this issue to society."

Earlier, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) announced on the 23rd that 12 members of the People Power Party were suspected of illegal real estate activities involving themselves or their families. Among them, Yoon was included on the list due to allegations of violating the Farmland Act by her father.

According to the ACRC, Yoon’s father purchased 10,871 square meters of rice paddies in Sejong City in 2016. However, since he did not farm the land himself but entrusted it to others and received seven sacks of rice annually, it was considered a possible violation of the Farmland Act.

After these facts became known, Yoon held a press conference on the 25th and declared her withdrawal from the presidential race and resignation from the National Assembly.

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