Yoon: "Is Daejang-dong Development a Collusion with Speculators or a Case of Incompetence?"... Lee: "This Is Not the Place to Appoint a Special Prosecutor"

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] On the 3rd, Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, and Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, clashed over the allegations of preferential development in Daejang-dong.

During the free discussion segment of the joint presidential candidate debate hosted by the three terrestrial broadcasters on the 3rd, candidate Yoon said, "Looking at what candidate Lee said last October, he mentioned that it was important to secure how much of Seongnam City's share from the development plan that generates enormous profits, and that he designed it. Then he must have been aware of the costs, etc." He added, "The development plan includes not only apartments but also roads, tunnels, parks, and so on. Just because those were built, it doesn't mean the profits were recovered. The issue remains about creating urban infrastructure and distributing dividends when cash remains. (Candidate Lee's claim) goes against common sense."

He continued, "I ask how they designed it so that people like Kim Man-bae, Nam Wook, and Jung Young-hak, who collectively invested 300 million won, would receive over 1 trillion won in profits. That is what the public is concerned about," and questioned, "Did they exclude the mayor and make it, or did candidate Lee, thinking there were many business risks during his time as mayor, design it so that those who invested 350 million won would all benefit?"

In response, candidate Lee said, "If the People Power Party had not blocked it, Seongnam City would have developed it 100% publicly," and retorted, "Why did they overlook the savings bank loan regulations? Why did Kim Man-bae's sister buy their father's house? Why did the person who said 'it would be a big problem if Lee Jae-myung knew' say that if I open my mouth, candidate Yoon would be finished? Why are all the related parties only from the People Power Party? Don't these questions arise?" When candidate Yoon said, "(Candidate Lee) cannot answer the Daejang-dong allegations," candidate Lee replied, "This is not the place to appoint a special prosecutor."

Before the free discussion, during the real estate segment, candidate Yoon asked, "When candidate Lee was the mayor of Seongnam, Kim Man-bae and others invested 350 million won in the Daejang-dong development and received 640 billion won in dividends from the project profits. Is it true that candidate Lee accurately estimated and designed the costs and profits involved in the Daejang-dong development project during his time as mayor?"

Candidate Lee responded, "First, I apologize again to the people for the disappointment caused by not being able to carry out 100% public development, even though the People Power Party obstructed and blocked it. This matter was thoroughly scrutinized for two days during the National Assembly audit, and recently the media has also verified it, and the prosecution is investigating it. Instead of wasting time repeating these discussions, how about talking about the people's livelihood and the economy?"

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