People Power Party: "Yoo Dong-gyu's Arrest Means Lee Jae-myung Cannot Deny Responsibility"

"Prosecutors Lack Willingness to Investigate"

Heo Eun-ah, Chief Spokesperson of the People Power Party [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] As Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and a key figure in the 'Daejang-dong Development Project Favoritism' allegations, has been detained, the People Power Party stated that Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung "will not be able to evade responsibility even with clever rhetoric."

Heo Eun-ah, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement on the 4th, "Governor Lee handed over real estate development, for which he should bear unlimited responsibility, to Hwacheon Daeyu. Therefore, Hwacheon Daeyu, the practical worker Yoo, and the planner Governor Lee must share their fate as a 'business consortium,'" expressing this view.

She also urged Governor Lee to resign from his position and accept a special prosecutor investigation.

The Seoul Central District Court held a pre-arrest detention hearing for former Director Yoo the previous afternoon and issued an arrest warrant on charges including violation of the Act on the Aggravated Punishment of Specific Economic Crimes (breach of trust), citing concerns over evidence destruction and flight risk.

Spokesperson Heo said, "Governor Lee is now trying to cut ties by claiming he was not even part of the close-knit group, but no citizen will believe that," and explained, "On the 14th of last month, Governor Lee himself confessed, 'Actually, I was the planner. Former Director Yoo was the practical worker at the time.'"

She continued, "During the 2016 Choi Soon-sil scandal, Governor Lee criticized, 'Power that must be held accountable infinitely was handed over to a street vendor woman,'" and added, "Former President Park Geun-hye was severely punished as she was tied to Choi Soon-sil under the name of an 'economic consortium.'" She emphasized, "The standards applied to former President Park must now be applied to Governor Lee."

On the same day, Jeon Ju-hye, the floor spokesperson, also criticized in a statement, "This is the first case of detention among those involved in the Daejang-dong gate," and questioned, "Why is there a rapid execution of home searches and travel bans for opposition figures involved in the Daejang-dong gate, while there is hesitation regarding ruling party figures?"

Spokesperson Jeon pointed out that the home searches related to the 'Daejang-dong allegations' were conducted 16 days later and mentioned the departures of key figures, suggesting that the prosecution appears to lack investigative will.

She stated, "We must not cover up corruption allegations with scapegoating investigations," and declared, "Only the introduction of a special prosecutor can thoroughly investigate without sanctuary and uncover the truth."

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