Lee Jae-myung Dismisses Daejang District Allegations as "Too Absurd"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park So-yeon] Lee Jae-myung, the leading presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, dismissed as "absurd" the allegations of favoritism surrounding the Daejang District development project he promoted during his tenure as mayor of Seongnam.

On the 13th, during an online press briefing held at his Yeouido campaign office, Lee stated, "Suspecting something unrelated as if it were related constitutes defamation against a candidate," addressing the issue.

Previously, after Lee's successful re-election as mayor of Seongnam in 2014, a consortium called 'Seongnam's Garden' was selected as the developer for the massive 1.15 trillion won public development project known as the 'Daejang-dong Development Project.'

At that time, Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), a company with no significant track record and only 50 million won in capital investment, participated as a shareholder and received dividends exceeding 50 billion won over three years. The main allegation is that the company's owner received preferential treatment due to a relationship with Lee.

Recently, claims including these have spread on internet community sites, with assertions that Lee's son was employed by an affiliate of the company.

Lee responded, "Many are curious, but my son does not work for that company," adding, "I hope such reports are made after proper verification."

He further remarked, "There are many absurd claims, such as the company president playing golf with someone who was my training academy classmate, implying a connection with us, or that one character in my son's name matches the company name," and said, "The situation is serious enough that we need to consider taking action."

Park Chan-dae, the chief spokesperson, also stated during a morning briefing at the campaign office that the related allegations are "highly inappropriate and distorted," adding, "These are long-standing claims with no issues."

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