Lee Jae-myung's Eldest Son Discharged Using Gyeonggi Province Official Car... Ruling Party: "Excessive Protocol True, But Not Ordered by Lee"

Former Public Official A Says "Lee Jangnam Used Official Car for Discharge"
"Fruit and Ritual Food Also Delivered to Home"
Ruling Party: "Official Car Not Directed by Candidate Couple"
"Fruit Purchased with Candidate's Own Money," Explanation

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea presidential candidate. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Additional allegations have been raised that a Gyeonggi Province official vehicle was used for the discharge of Lee Jae-myung, the eldest son of the Democratic Party presidential candidate, and that a public official delivered fruit and other 'ancestral ritual foods' to the candidate's wife, Kim Hye-kyung, at their home. The Democratic Party acknowledged the private use of the official vehicle as "excessive protocol" and explained that the ritual foods were "purchased with the candidate's personal funds."

According to JTBC's 'Newsroom' on the 7th, A, a former Grade 7 public official at the Gyeonggi Provincial Office who exposed Kim's 'excessive protocol' allegations, handled the discharge procedures for the candidate's eldest son in June last year under the direction of a senior official, Bae, who is a close associate of the candidate. At that time, Lee's eldest son was hospitalized at a hospital in Goyang City, 50 km away from their home, for leg treatment, and A reportedly paid the hospital bills and collected medicine on his behalf, following instructions to complete the discharge procedures.

The disclosed phone call recording includes A reporting to Bae that he would return to the provincial office immediately after completing these procedures. A said, "For now, the car cannot go any further because the kilometer count is insufficient, so I will return the vehicle first," and Bae replied, "Oh, understood." A claimed this conversation was "a discussion to conceal the use of the official vehicle for the private affairs of Lee's family." He also said that "the mileage of the official vehicle increased significantly that day, and the driving log was not properly recorded."

Former Gyeonggi Provincial Government Grade 7 official Mr. A sent a Telegram message to his superior Mr. B showing 'ancestral ritual food' taken at the home of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate./Photo by JTBC

There is also evidence that Bae instructed A to purchase ritual foods such as fruit and deliver them to Lee's residence. In Telegram messages exchanged between A and Bae, A said, "I will receive ritual items from the fruit store and take pictures," then posted photos of jeon (Korean pancakes), pears, apples, and dried pollack. Subsequently, Bae instructed A to deliver these to Sunae (Lee's residence) and asked, "When you arrive at Sunae, please smell the jeon. It hasn't gone bad, has it?"

The date A received the ritual foods was March 31 of last year, which is known to be the lunar anniversary of Lee's mother’s death. A claimed this was "evidence that the Lee side ordered errands not only during holidays but also on days with family events." He also said, "There was a dedicated ledger at the fruit store, and if you said it was from Gyeonggi Province, you could just take it." On the day A went to pick up the fruit, the Gyeonggi Province business expense records show a payment of 430,000 won to the fruit store under the name of 'hospitality items for visitors.'

Regarding the additional allegations, the Democratic Party admitted, "Bae's instruction to use the official vehicle was clearly excessive protocol and wrong." However, they stated, "It was unrelated to orders from the candidate or Kim Hye-kyung." The instruction was made solely by Bae personally and not by the candidate couple. Concerning the purchase of ritual foods, they explained, "They were bought with the candidate's personal funds, paid in cash, so there is no receipt. The fruit and ritual foods purchased with business expenses are unrelated."

Regarding the business expense records, Gyeonggi Province stated, "We purchased from the store through expenditure resolutions and vouchers and used the items as intended," but added, "We do not know specifically what was purchased."

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