Yoon Seok-yeol: "If I Were the Prosecutor General, the Daejang-dong Investigation Would Have Ended Already... It's Not a Difficult Investigation"

"Daechang-dong's design itself is the completion of breach of trust crime"
"Democratic Party-Lee Jae-myung oppose the era's spirit of fairness and common sense"

Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party and former Prosecutor General, commented on the 'Daejang-dong development preferential treatment suspicion' surrounding Lee Jae-myung, the candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "If I were the current Prosecutor General, the investigation would have already been completed."

In an interview with Yonhap News on the 7th, Candidate Yoon said, "Isn't Candidate Lee the architect of the Daejang-dong development project? The issue is not whether he retracts his statements or not, but that it is a matter that cannot be carried out without the mayor's approval," adding, "This is not a difficult investigation. The design of Daejang-dong itself is the completion of a breach of trust crime."

He also pointed out Lee's reversal of his position regarding the Daejang-dong development, saying, "The issue is not whether he retracts his statements or not, but that it is a matter that cannot be carried out without the mayor's approval." Candidate Lee had stated on September 14th at the National Assembly, "Actually, I designed this," but later, during the National Assembly audits on the 18th and 20th of last month, he completely denied any involvement.

Candidate Yoon further stated about the Daejang-dong suspicion, "(Candidate Lee) did not just stamp the approval but was involved from the beginning in consultations, receiving reports, and feedback processes before giving the final sign-off," adding, "It is hard to imagine that the mayor was not involved at all in forcibly acquiring the property of citizens who owned that enormous land and distributing it to private developers in that way."

When asked, "Is it a crime even if Candidate Lee did not illicitly gain benefits?" he replied, "Breach of trust is a crime whether the illicit benefits are received by oneself or given to a third party." Regarding Candidate Lee limiting his responsibility to 'management responsibility,' Yoon criticized it as "an unreasonable statement."

Candidate Yoon expressed confidence about the final showdown with Candidate Lee. He said, "I am confident of victory. I am certain," and added, "The coalition of the Democratic Party and Lee Jae-myung, symbolized by the Daejang-dong gate, goes against the spirit of the times, which is fairness and common sense." He continued, "I may have some shortcomings and may be criticized by the public in some respects, but overall, I believe it is difficult to go against the spirit of the times."

Regarding Candidate Lee's strengths, Yoon said, "He has strong drive," but evaluated, "Although he has strong drive, what matters is whether that direction is right and beneficial to the people. In my view, the problem is that the direction is not properly set."

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