Jin Joong-kwon Criticizes Lee Jae-myung for Spending 3.7 Times More on Promotion as "Privatization of Profits"

Former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Jin Joong-kwon, former professor at Dongyang University, criticized Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential primary candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, for spending more on advertising and promotional materials after taking office than his predecessor, calling it "privatization of profits, socialization of costs."

On the 30th, former Professor Jin shared an article on his Facebook stating that the promotional budget increased during Lee's tenure and made this comment.

According to the article shared by former Professor Jin, Lee spent a total of 3.7178 billion KRW on advertising and promotional material production in Gyeonggi Province over three years from 2019 to 2021. In contrast, Nam Kyung-pil, the former governor, spent a total of 998 million KRW during the previous three years from 2016 to 2018. In terms of total costs, Lee spent 3.7 times more.

Both ruling and opposition parties have criticized the sharp increase in promotional expenses without special reasons, accusing Lee of enjoying a "governor's chance." They argue that Lee is using Gyeonggi Province's budget for his presidential campaign promotion.

On the same day, former Professor Jin posted on his Facebook criticizing Lee's personnel hiring methods. He sarcastically said, "Lee Jae-myung-style patronage appointments?since he is a local government head, not a legislator, securing his political supporters was probably the only way."

Meanwhile, on the 30th, the labor union of public institutions under Gyeonggi Province released data titled "Improper Hiring in Gyeonggi Province Public Institutions" compiled over the past six months. The data revealed that about 90 individuals who worked with Lee during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam from 2010 to 2018 and those active in the 2017 presidential campaign were included.

The union stated, "Further verification is needed regarding the facts of the 'improper hiring list' we compiled," adding, "We plan to continue collecting related lists and then consider whether to officially raise issues about the hiring process."

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