野 "Lee Jae-myung Involved in International Mafia" Allegation, Lee "Parliamentary Immunity Should Be Limited"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, is taking the witness oath at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government on the 18th. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] The People Power Party has raised allegations that Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is linked to the "international mafia." In response, Lee countered by saying, "Parliamentary immunity should be limited."

On the 18th, during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee audit of Gyeonggi Province held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office, Kim Yong-pan, a member of the People Power Party, claimed, "According to statements, fact verification documents, and whistleblower reports submitted by Park, who was once a member of the international mafia faction but later withdrew and cooperated actively with the police, there has been collusion between the candidate and the mafia since before 2017, and they had a symbiotic relationship where the candidate received introductions to cases and gave commissions."

Rep. Kim said, "Koma Trade, which signed a sponsorship agreement with FC Seongnam, where the candidate was the club owner, was a den of international faction members," adding, "Despite knowing all this, Seongnam City awarded it as an excellent company, and the candidate’s nickname was even 'Lee Jae-myung Boss,' showing how well he managed the organization."

As Rep. Kim read the statement submitted by Mr. Park, the candidate showed a reaction of disbelief.

Governor Lee responded, "If I had done this, I would have been punished long ago," and said, "If there had been anything even remotely like this, I wouldn’t have been able to come to this position." He added, "This is why parliamentary immunity should be limited," and called it a "clear falsehood."

Regarding Rep. Kim’s point that Mr. Park gave cash and other items to Koma Trade employees, Lee remarked, "I saw earlier that the content was quite interesting. Was there cash given? The rest seems to have been given by check, so it will be easy to verify," sarcastically adding, "This isn’t some kind of school play."

The candidate argued, "No matter how much you are a member of the National Assembly, I am also a representative of the people, and it is not right to make baseless claims like this based on one-sided statements from so-called gangsters regarding personal honor."

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