Won Hee-ryong's Side: "Did Lee Jae-myung Really Not Know About 'Hwacheon Daeyu'?"

"Lee Jae-myung, who usually criticizes unearned income, is too lenient on 'Hwacheon Daeyu'"

Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party of Korea presidential primary candidate Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] The campaign team of Won Hee-ryong, former governor of Jeju and a presidential pre-candidate from the People Power Party, raised their voice regarding the allegations of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development project in Seongnam City involving Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, asking, "We ask Lee Jae-myung, the man with two faces. Did you really not know about 'Hwacheon Daeyu'?"

On the 15th, Park Yong-chan, chief spokesperson of Won's presidential campaign, issued a statement saying, "Lee Jae-myung's stance on 'Hwacheon Daeyu,' the core of the Daejang-dong development allegations, is unusually lenient for him," expressing this view.

Previously, Governor Lee was at the center of controversy related to the Daejang-dong development project. While serving as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, Lee promoted the Daejang-dong development project in Bundang-gu, Seongnam City, covering approximately 910,000 square meters and developing 5,903 housing units. Originally, this project was to be carried out as a private development, but after Lee took office as mayor of Seongnam in 2010, it was converted into a public project. To implement the project, Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and private developers invested equally to establish a special purpose company (SPC) called 'Seongnam Eutteul' in July 2015.

The problem arose when it was revealed that Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), a company holding 14.28% of the common shares of Seongnam Eutteul, received dividends amounting to hundreds of billions of won over three years. Hwacheon Daeyu invested 50 million won in capital but received 57.7 billion won in dividends. The opposition claims this is a case of 'close aide corruption,' pointing out that the dividends were excessive compared to the paid-in capital and that Mr. A, a former journalist who owns 100% of Hwacheon Daeyu, had connections with Lee, including past interviews.

Spokesperson Park criticized, "Lee Jae-myung, who has consistently maintained an extreme stance that all real estate income should be fully reclaimed as unearned income, shows an infinitely lenient attitude toward 'Hwacheon Daeyu,' which earned 57.7 billion won in dividends from an investment of only 50 million won. Even after making over 1,000 times the investment in three years, candidate Lee did not hesitate to defend 'Hwacheon Daeyu,' saying, 'Is that much profit really that significant?'"

Park added, "'Hwacheon Daeyu's' profit realization is an investment, but is the National Pension Service's toll collection a predatory loan shark?" He continued, "Because he says one thing and another from the same mouth, criticism and accusations that Lee Jae-myung is a 'man with two faces' never cease."

Park also stated, "It is surprising and puzzling that candidate Lee, who has advocated harsh punishment for real estate income and speculation, is unusually lenient and generous only toward 'Hwacheon Daeyu.' Many citizens find this sudden 180-degree change in Lee Jae-myung's stance strange and suspicious."

Finally, Park said, "The Daejang-dong land development was a project promoted by Seongnam City when Lee was mayor. This land development project was effectively under the influence of 'Hwacheon Daeyu,' and 'Hwacheon Daeyu' and its associates received dividends exceeding 400 billion won from this land development." He criticized, "We ask candidate Lee: Did you truly not know about the existence and reality of 'Hwacheon Daeyu'?"

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