Democratic Party: "Won Hee-ryong, who claimed ignorance of Kim Gun-hee's land, was asked about Yangpyeong road during the audit"

Democratic Party Must Withdraw Plan to Scrap Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway
Land, Infrastructure Committee Should Address This Issue Next Week

The Democratic Party of Korea strongly condemned Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong's decision to completely scrap the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project. They also refuted Minister Won's claim that he was unaware of First Lady Kim Geon-hee's land holdings in the Yangpyeong area, pointing out that questions regarding her land were raised during last year's National Assembly audit. Some within the Democratic Party are even discussing impeachment against Minister Won.

Members of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from the Democratic Party and the Task Force (TF) investigating preferential treatment allegations related to the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 7th, urging, "Minister Won should retract the full cancellation of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway and apologize to the residents of Yangpyeong and the public," adding, "The Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee should convene next week to address this issue."

They stated, "Instead of clarifying the opposition party's allegations, threatening the public by talking about a full project cancellation is a dictatorial mindset and a clear abuse of authority," and vowed, "We will ensure that the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project proceeds smoothly and according to procedure."

The head of the Truth Investigation Task Force on preferential treatment allegations regarding the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway of the Democratic Party of Korea, Kang Deuk-gu, is speaking on the morning of the 6th near the expressway terminus in Gangsang-myeon, Yangpyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Earlier, immediately after the party-government consultation meeting held the previous day, Minister Won announced the complete cancellation of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway project, which the Democratic Party had raised suspicions of preferential treatment involving the Kim family. At that meeting, Minister Won said, "If I had even the slightest knowledge that First Lady Kim Geon-hee owned land there (in Yangpyeong), I would stake not only my ministerial position but also my political life," adding, "However, if investigations prove that the Democratic Party's allegations are groundless, the Democratic Party should take down its sign."

Regarding this, Democratic Party lawmaker Han Jun-ho told reporters on the same day, "During the National Assembly audit on October 6 last year, questions were raised about the land owned by First Lady Kim in the Yangpyeong area concerning land use changes," suggesting the possibility that Minister Won was aware of her land beforehand. Lawmaker Han said, "Since he said he would stake his ministerial position and political life, as someone who has been in politics for a long time, I hope he takes clear responsibility for this." Given that the land in question was discussed during the audit, it is implied that Minister Won could not have been unaware.

The Democratic Party plans to hold a standalone standing committee meeting to investigate the cancellation of the Yangpyeong Expressway and the preferential treatment allegations against First Lady Kim if the People Power Party does not cooperate.

Park Jae-ho, the Democratic Party's secretary for the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, stated, "(The Democratic Party) is urging the convening of the standing committee," adding, "If (a bipartisan agreement) is not reached, we will hold the committee meeting unilaterally." He further emphasized, "If necessary, we will actively consider revealing the clear truth through a state audit."

Some are even discussing impeachment against Minister Won. Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Deuk-gu told some media outlets in a phone interview, "After discussions with lawmakers who are former lawyers within the party, it appears that legal grounds for impeachment, including breach of trust, could be established," adding, "This is a matter that requires impeachment."

However, at a press conference, Lawmaker Kang clarified, "The report was a personal expression that I might consider impeachment," and Democratic Party spokesperson Kang Sun-woo also stated after the Supreme Council meeting, "There has been no discussion about impeachment within the party leadership."

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