"Man in his 30s, can't even earn 30 million won through part-time jobs?" Democratic Party campaign committee's response to Lee's son's asset allegations

Hyun Geun-taek, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea's election campaign committee. / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] Hyun Geun-taek, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea's presidential campaign committee, commented on the asset allegations concerning Lee Mo, son of presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, saying, "If it were normal economic activity, wouldn't a man in his 30s be able to earn 20 to 30 million won? Even a part-time job could earn that much."

On the 21st, on TBS Radio's 'Kim Eo-jun's News Factory,' Kim Yong-nam, standing public relations special advisor for the People Power Party's presidential campaign committee, stated, "There are allegations regarding the increase in assets of the candidate's son. About 88 million won increased, and the candidate's side revealed that 50 million won was gifted. The excuse is weak, and the increase in the remaining assets is unexplained."

In response, spokesperson Hyun said, "He's 30 years old; do you think he just did nothing and idled around all this time?" and claimed, "He must have been engaged in economic activities or something else, which is why his assets increased."

He continued, "The People Power Party ultimately wants to connect this to the father. They say, 'Did he know the money was for gambling and gave it, or did he repay gambling money later?' That seems to be the core issue, but what parent would provide money if their son was gambling?" emphasizing, "I don't think such parents exist."

Spokesperson Hyun also added, "They seem to be 100% certain that he did no economic activity, but I don't think that's the case," and said, "If you manage that amount of funds, you could earn money even if you did something else. To assume that the person only earned money through gambling is, in my view, an excessive speculation."

He said, "They are demanding the disclosure of gambling funds and ledgers, but since a complaint has already been filed, it has gone beyond the scope of investigation," and added, "If it is related to criminal activity, it would naturally be a problem, but if it is normal economic activity, wouldn't a man in his 30s be able to earn 20 to 30 million won? Even a part-time job could earn that much."

Meanwhile, Heo Jeong-hwan, full-time deputy spokesperson for the People Power Party's central presidential campaign committee, raised suspicions about the asset formation of the candidate's son on the 18th, stating, "It has been revealed that Lee's deposits surged after he started illegal gambling in 2019. In two years, an inexplicable asset increase of 88.78 million won occurred. Lee only had six months as an intern at a financial company in 2019, so there was no income source for such an increase in assets."

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