The First Reporter on Daejang-dong Allegations "A Democratic Party Primary Candidate's Associate Provided the Tip"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, is giving a speech appealing for support at the 'The People's Dream is Lee Jae-myung's Dream' Seoul rally held around Cheonggye Plaza in Seoul on the 8th. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers.

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hyung-min] The journalist who first revealed the preferential treatment and lobbying allegations related to the Daejang-dong development in Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, stated that the information was provided by a "key associate of a Democratic Party presidential primary candidate."

According to the legal community on the 9th, Park Jong-myung, a reporter for Gyeonggi Economy Newspaper, posted on his social media account the day before, "The presidential election that started with Seongnam-si Daejang-dong seems to be ending with the controversy over whether the mastermind behind Daejang-dong is 'Lee Jae-myung or Yoon Seok-youl?'" He explained, "This Daejang-dong controversy was reported in the form of a reporter's notebook after fact-checking because a key associate of a Democratic Party presidential primary candidate, who pledged to 'eradicate corruption in Daejang-dong' and 'restore principles, common sense, justice, and fairness,' provided the tip during the Democratic Party's 20th presidential candidate primary process, fulfilling the public's right to know and the media's duty."

Park added, "At the time, I did not know that numerous legal, political, and governmental figures were involved in the Daejang-dong corruption cartel. Under the Moon Jae-in administration, real estate prices skyrocketed, and I felt that a specific vested interest group was sacrificing the lives and hopes of the people to gain only their own benefits." He recalled, "The informant said, 'One of the Democratic Party primary candidates colluded with corrupt forces and used the enormous profits gained from the Daejang-dong preferential treatment as a stepping stone for their own career advancement and glory.'"

Furthermore, Park said that the informant claimed, "This tip is so sensitive that central media outlets are hesitant to report it, watching each other closely." He stated, "Although our outlet is a small regional internet media operating within Gyeonggi-do, we reported this with the conviction that there is no distinction between central media and regional internet media when it comes to revealing the truth about corruption. We want to inform the public of the truth, no matter what hardships we face."

Earlier, on August 31 of last year, Park posted an article online titled “[Reporter’s Notebook] Candidate Lee Jae-myung, who owns Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management?” based on various tips and investigative content.

Hwacheon Daeyu claimed that this article was written with false information to defame them and Candidate Lee, causing significant damage to their personality rights, honor, and credit. They requested Park to delete the article within 72 hours after a court decision and to pay 10 million KRW per day if he failed to comply, but the Suwon District Court did not accept this request. Hwacheon Daeyu is also known to have filed a criminal complaint against Park for defamation and a civil lawsuit seeking damages worth approximately 200 million KRW.

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