Lee Jae-myung, What Is the Essence of the Daejang-dong Scandal?..."People Power Party Blocked Public Development"

Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung is heading to work on the 18th to appear as a witness at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province.

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, claimed that the root and essence of the Daejang-dong case is "that the People Power Party completely blocked public development to promote private development."

On the 18th, ahead of the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province, Lee met with reporters on his way to the provincial government audit site and emphasized, "The root and essence of this case (Daejang-dong) become clear when you look at it," adding, "The root and essence is that the People Power Party blocked 100% of public development."

He continued, "Politicians affiliated with the People Power Party or those close to it shared the unearned development profits of private developers," and explained, "Despite institutional limitations and the political environment, Lee Jae-myung, then Mayor of Seongnam, struggled hard to recover 550.3 billion won of development profits that private entities would have taken entirely, creating a flat park for 500,000 residents of the original city area, and additionally recovered 183 billion won, from which the disaster relief fund of 100,000 won per person paid by Seongnam City this time was spent, returning a significant amount to the citizens of Seongnam."

However, he said, "They keep revealing side issues, and side issues of side issues, focusing on trivial details as if there is a special problem," adding, "Because our people communicate with a hundred million eyes and five hundred million mouths, as a collective intelligence, I believe they will fully grasp the essence and see through these unfair attempts and abnormal acts trying to distort the main point."

Democratic Party lawmaker Baek Hye-ryun also drew attention at the audit by naming direct and indirect recipients of money related to the Daejang-dong project, most of whom are connected to the People Power Party.

The individuals named by Rep. Baek include ▲ Kwak Sang-do, former People Power Party senior secretary for civil affairs under the Park Geun-hye administration ▲ Park Young-soo, special prosecutor recommended by the opposition during the Park Geun-hye administration ▲ Choi Jae-kyung, senior secretary for civil affairs under the Park Geun-hye administration ▲ Kwon Soon-il, Supreme Court justice appointed under the Park Geun-hye administration and later deputy chief of court administration ▲ Kim Soo-nam, Prosecutor General under the Park Geun-hye administration ▲ Kang Chan-woo, chief prosecutor of Suwon District Prosecutors' Office under the Park Geun-hye administration ▲ Lee Chang-je, deputy minister of justice under the Park Geun-hye administration ▲ Kim Ki-dong, head of the special investigation team for corruption crimes at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office under the Park Geun-hye administration ▲ Lee Kyung-jae, legal advisor and counsel for the Park Geun-hye and Choi Soon-sil state affairs manipulation case.

Rep. Baek stated, "They are all people connected to the Park Geun-hye administration," and claimed, "Former floor leader Won Yoo-chul of the Saenuri Party (now People Power Party), who was an advisor, was arrested, and not only him but even his wife was detained and received money as well."

Rep. Baek also emphasized, "When the Cheonhwa-dongin group conspired in this project in 2015, they entered under the guise of specific monetary allowances, so from the perspective of Governor Lee Jae-myung (then Mayor of Seongnam), it seems he could not have known about the existing construction forces."

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