Jin Joong-kwon: "Lee Jae-myung Seems to Be in Panic... Following Jo Guk"

"Lee Jae-myung: If He Knew the Problems of Daejang-dong Development, He Was Corrupt; If Not, He Was Incompetent"

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

[Asia Economy Reporter Yoon Seul-gi] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon raised his voice against Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who is at the center of the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment suspicion in Seongnam City, Gyeonggi Province, saying, "He is following in the footsteps of Cho Kuk."

On the morning of the 6th, Jin posted on his Facebook targeting Governor Lee, saying, "He has lost his sense of reality," and added, "He gave 1 trillion won in preferential treatment to Hwacheon Daeyu in Seongnam City. As a result, a detention warrant was requested on charges of breach of trust against his close aide (Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation), and the court accepted it. This is reality," he said.

Jin continued, "However, he insists that 'it was not preferential treatment but the resolution of preferential treatment.' He praises himself as an 'administrator who found a rational alternative.' He is trapped in his own world," criticizing, "It's exactly the same as with Cho Kuk."

Then Jin said, "This person seems to be in complete panic right now. Isn't what he says a bit strange? For example, 'It's not something to apologize for but something to be praised,' 'If a KEPCO employee takes bribes and commits fraud, does the president resign?' 'It's like saying Nobel designed the 9/11 terror attack.' What kind of talk is this?" He pointed out, "Suddenly, he talks as if Bin Laden established the Nobel Prize. There is no logic in what he says. In short, he is not in his right mind right now."

Jin pointed out, "Unfortunately, he only has two choices: If he knew about the problem of the Seongnam Daejang-dong development, then it is corruption; if he didn't know, then it is incompetence. He has to choose one of the two, but since he refuses to choose either, his words keep getting strangely twisted."

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province [Image source=Yonhap News]

Furthermore, Jin said, "At times like this, one must act according to principles. He should confess that the project he had boasted as 'the largest project since Dangun' was actually 'the largest corruption case since Dangun,' and admit that he was thoroughly incompetent as a governor for not realizing this," adding, "Then he should apologize for causing enormous losses to Seongnam City. After that, he should appeal to the people, saying, 'Please give me one more chance.'"

Meanwhile, on the 5th, the prosecution arrested Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, on charges of bribery and breach of trust. Yoo formed a connection with Governor Lee when he campaigned for Lee, who ran for Seongnam mayor in 2010, while serving as the head of an apartment remodeling association in Bundang New Town.

The prosecution suspects that Yoo received a total of 800 million won in bribes?500 million won from Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), and 300 million won from a private developer, Jung, during the development of Wirye New Town in 2013?and designed the revenue distribution structure of the Daejang-dong project to concentrate development profits on Hwacheon Daeyu, thereby facilitating their business interests.

The People Power Party is intensifying its offensive, claiming that Yoo was the action leader and that the ultimate responsibility lies with Governor Lee, who was the mayor of Seongnam at the time. On the 4th, Kim Ki-hyun, the floor leader of the People Power Party, stated at a press conference at the National Assembly, "No matter how much Governor Lee and former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Director Yoo Dong-gyu try to deny it, they can only be seen as a political-economic community."

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