Jin Joong-kwon: "Lee Jae-myung Pretends to Be a Captain After Getting Caught Stealing"

Jin Joong-kwon Criticizes Lee Jae-myung's 'Daejang-dong Scandal' Mentioning the Movie Catch Me If You Can

Former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon mocked Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung, who is embroiled in allegations of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development project, saying, "He acts like a grape captain after getting caught stealing."

On the 9th, Jin posted on his Facebook, referring to the movie Catch Me If You Can, saying, "The protagonist, con artist DiCaprio, pretends to be a fellow investigator to escape when the police come to arrest him, right?" He added, "Lee Jae-myung is using that same tactic." The movie Catch Me If You Can is based on a true story where the protagonist disguises himself as an investigator, pilot, and other identities to carry out fraud and evade law enforcement surveillance.

Earlier, Governor Lee showed a stance of confronting the allegations surrounding the Daejang-dong development project that surfaced during the presidential primary race. On the 14th of last month, Lee held an emergency press conference, stating, "The Daejang-dong development is a model public interest project that prevented preferential treatment in private development and recovered 550.3 billion won for the benefit of citizens," adding, "There is rampant slander beyond mere speculation, misinterpretation, distorted reporting, and negativity surrounding the largest public interest recovery project since the founding of Korea, the Daejang-dong development project."

However, after Yoo Dong-gyu, former Planning Director of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation and an associate of Lee, was arrested on the 3rd on charges of breach of trust, it was revealed that Gyeonggi Province requested Seongnam City to recover undue profits. On the 6th, the province sent a letter titled "Recommendations Regarding the Seongnam Daejang-dong and First Industrial Complex Combined Urban Development Project" to Seongnam City and Seongnam Urban Development Corporation in Lee’s name.

In the letter, the province stated, "Although the Daejang-dong investigation is ongoing, a stakeholder has been arrested on charges of accepting bribes," and recommended, "If the charges are confirmed, a task force (TF) composed of legal experts should be formed to prepare for recovering the profit distribution portion as undue profits."

Lee Jae-myung’s campaign spokesperson Song Pyung-soo also issued a statement on the 8th urging, "Seongnam City and Seongnam Urban Development Corporation should first proceed with asset freezing measures such as provisional seizure on the private business operator’s assets and take active measures that the public and Seongnam citizens can accept."

Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon posted on his Facebook on the 9th criticizing Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province. Photo by Former Professor Jin's Facebook capture

Meanwhile, Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party’s presidential pre-candidate, also strongly criticized Governor Lee. On the 9th, Yoon’s campaign spokesperson Kim Byung-min released a statement saying, "Lee, who boasted that this was the largest public interest recovery project since the founding of Korea, reversed his position 180 degrees in just over two weeks," adding, "It is astonishing how shameless Lee is trying to evade the situation with a 'recommendation' measure that has no legal effect or enforcement power."

He continued, "Is it even reasonable for Lee, who is evading the truth of Daejang-dong by scapegoating Yoo Dong-gyu, to talk about recovering undue profits?" and said, "Lee must know that the most important thing for restoring the damage to Seongnam citizens is a thorough investigation by the prosecution, so why does he turn a blind eye to the evidence destruction by his close aide Yoo Dong-gyu and the prosecution’s delayed and sluggish investigation?"

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