Lee Jae-myung: "Yoo Dong-gyu Did Help in Past Elections but Is Not a Close Aide"

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential primary candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, dismissed claims by Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party candidate, who argued that Lee and Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, are one and the same and that Lee should resign, saying, "Do not attack with vague concepts."

On the 3rd, after announcing regional pledges for Gyeonggi as a Democratic Party presidential primary candidate, Lee visited the press room and retorted, "They say Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, and I are close aides, but what exactly is the concept of a close aide that is being used beforehand?"

He continued, "It is true that former Planning Director Yoo helped with publicity, but I heard he did not participate in the (2018) Gyeonggi gubernatorial election campaign, but honestly, I do not know," adding, "He is not involved at all in this presidential campaign."

He also added, "After former Planning Director Yoo came as president of the Gyeonggi Tourism Organization last year, he suddenly resigned. I later learned from surrounding aides that it was because he requested a film production budget of 18 billion won and that caused his resignation."

He then clarified, "When considering who counts as a close aide who helped in the election, I think it refers to those who assisted closely, such as in the secretariat," and drew a clear line by saying, "I acknowledge that former Director Yoo helped in past elections, but he is not part of the close aide group. He is not included there."

Furthermore, he questioned, "If a person who served as Prosecutor General (Yoon Seok-yeol) says such things, wouldn't all the clerks, investigators, and prosecutors under the prosecution also be included as (Yoon candidate's) close aides?"

Lee especially stated, "If I am elected, I will employ competent people regardless of whether they are on my side or the opposition," and directly hit back, saying, "If I hire people close to the opposition, does that make them opposition figures? Do not attack with vague concepts."

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