[News Figures] Lee Jae-myung Calls Kim Yong, Who Was Arrested, a "Person Like a Part of Myself"

Lee's 'Seongnam Line' Closest Aide, Connection Since Around 2009
Close Support During Seongnam Mayor and Gyeonggi Province Governor Tenure
Also Oversaw Organization in Presidential Campaign Camp

Kim Yong, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, considered a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute and known as a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was arrested by the prosecution in connection with the preferential treatment allegations in the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town development projects. Lee had previously referred to Kim as a "person like a part of himself," drawing attention to their close relationship.

The Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 3 of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office (Chief Prosecutor Kang Baeksin) arrested Deputy Director Kim on the 19th on charges of violating the Political Funds Act and conducted searches of his residence and other locations. The prosecution also attempted to search the Democratic Research Institute located within the Democratic Party headquarters in Yeouido, where Kim's office is situated.

Deputy Director Kim is suspected of receiving hundreds of millions of won in illegal political funds from former Seongnam Urban Development Corporation Planning Director Yoo Dong-gyu and private business operators involved in the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town development projects. It is reported that during the investigation of former Director Yoo and others, the prosecution secured testimonies indicating that money was handed over to Kim.

At the time, Kim was a Seongnam city council member, and the prosecution suspects that in exchange for receiving money, he provided preferential treatment to private business operators during city council activities such as ordinance enactment and budget review. The prosecution is also reportedly focusing on the fact that the timing when Kim received the money coincided with the period last year when Lee was preparing for the presidential primary. The prosecution's position is that the funds flowed into Lee's presidential campaign funds.

Deputy Director Kim, along with Jung Jin-sang, Political Coordination Officer of the Democratic Party leader’s office, is considered part of Lee’s close "Seongnam line." When the preferential treatment allegations regarding the Daejang-dong development project surfaced last October and former Director Yoo was mentioned as a close aide, Lee remarked, "If we talk about close aides, it should be people like Jung Jin-sang and Kim Yong."

The relationship between Deputy Director Kim and Lee appears to have begun around 2009. At that time, Kim was the chairman of the remodeling promotion committee for the Maehwa Public Officials Complex 2 in Yatap-dong, Bundang-gu, and he connected with Lee, who was a lawyer at the Seongnam Policy Research Institute. When Lee was elected mayor of Seongnam in 2010, Kim was also elected as a Seongnam city council member, serving together as mayor and council member for eight years.

When Lee was elected governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2018, Kim was appointed spokesperson for the governor’s transition team and later as spokesperson for Gyeonggi Province. During the last presidential election, Kim served as the general deputy head of Lee’s primary campaign and later as head of the organizational headquarters of the election committee when Lee became the Democratic Party’s presidential candidate. In December 2019, at the publication event for Kim’s book, Kim Yong Utilization Method, Courage to Change the World, Lee referred to Kim as "a comrade who shares the same will and a person like a part of myself."

Meanwhile, Lee strongly opposed the prosecution’s arrest of Deputy Director Kim and the search of the Democratic Party headquarters, calling it "oppression by the opposition party." At an emergency party meeting on the 20th, Lee said, "This is the first time in the history of the Republic of Korea that the ruling party has searched the opposition party’s central headquarters during a national audit," adding, "This is not politics but outright oppression."

Regarding Deputy Director Kim, Lee stated, "They talk about presidential campaign funds, but not a single won of illegal funds has been used," and "He is someone I have trusted and worked with for a long time, and I still believe in his innocence."

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