Kim Ki-hyun "Kim Hye-kyung used local government budget for personal purposes... How will she manage the national finances?"

Criticism Over Hiring Special Positions with Local Government Budget
4-Party Debate Described as "Assessing Whether the Person Is Reliable"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, regarding allegations of misuse of corporate credit cards by Lee’s spouse, Kim Hye-kyung, saying, "If this is how the governor managed the provincial finances, how will he manage the national finances?"

On the 3rd, Kim said on BBS Radio's "Park Kyung-soo's Morning Journal," "It is said that the local government budget was used for personal purposes, including buying beef for home consumption. There are even reports that it was used to purchase food items for ancestral rites," expressing his criticism.

Earlier, a whistleblower who was a public official at the provincial office during Lee’s tenure as Gyeonggi Province governor revealed through the media that under the direction of Lee’s close aide Bae, they performed personal errands such as proxy prescription of medicine, food delivery, and wardrobe organization.

Kim pointed out, "What is particularly problematic is that Lee reportedly hired separate staff dedicated to these tasks during his time as mayor of Seongnam and governor of Gyeonggi Province. Moreover, two people were hired with their salaries paid from the local government budget," adding, "Having dedicated personnel for such tasks clearly suggests misuse of resources."

He also claimed that Bae, who was a secretary, made "false explanations," stating, "Since he was a special appointment public official, he entered and left with the governor as a special hiring case. However, it was actually Kim who delivered the medicine, so why is Bae claiming he needed the medicine? This is a contradictory lie," he said.

He continued, "Whenever problems arise, they shift all responsibility onto subordinates, and when things go well, they take all the credit. That’s all there is to it," criticizing the situation.

Regarding the key issues of the four-party TV debate scheduled for that afternoon, he argued, "In debates, people look not just for who speaks well, but who is trustworthy and reliable."

He added, "During the last National Assembly audit, Lee brought flashy charts and gave a detailed explanation about the preferential corruption issues related to Daejang-dong, even smirking slightly, which felt like he was looking down on and dismissing the other members of the National Assembly. What remained afterward was the impression that 'Lee is a truly intimidating person, someone to be feared,'" he said.

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