Kim Jungjae: "Democratic Party Targeting Kim Keonhee to Distract from Scandals... A Stalking Party"

Kim Jungjae Refutes Allegations of Inflated Project Costs
"Only 14 Billion KRW Increase, Not 100 Billion"
Calls Opposition's Claims "Typical Suspicion Inflation"

Regarding the Democratic Party's claim that the total project cost for the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway increased by 100 billion KRW due to a change in the project’s endpoint, Kim Jungjae, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, strongly refuted this, calling it "a typical case of inflating suspicions."

Appearing on YTN Radio’s ‘News King Park Jihoon’ on July 11, Kim stated, "While it is true that the endpoint was changed, the actual increase in project cost is not 100 billion KRW, but only 14 billion KRW, which is just 0.8% of the total project budget."

Kim further explained, "The benefit is that traffic volume will increase by 40%," and added, "The figure of 100 billion KRW likely refers to the 82 billion KRW allocated to Hanam, the starting point of this expressway, which would be spent regardless of whether the original or the preliminary feasibility plan is chosen." He continued, "This is because the tunnel length in Hanam is being extended," and, "There are also costs related to relocating the tollgate."

Jung Jae, the secretary of the People Power Party's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, is answering reporters' questions after the briefing on the results of the practical party-government consultation meeting of the People Power Party's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee regarding 'fake news about the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway' at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 6th. Photo by Yonhap News

Kim also asserted, "The Democratic Party’s goal is simply to tarnish the reputation of the president’s wife and her family. It is no exaggeration to call them a party that stalks Kim Keonhee."

He added, "As everyone knows, there are numerous political crises such as the legal risks surrounding Lee Jaemyung, the cash envelope scandal, and the Kim Namguk coin incident. So, what issue could cover all of these at once? It’s Kim Keonhee. That’s why they keep spreading fake news like this."

Regarding the Democratic Party’s claim that route changes never occur after the preliminary feasibility study (pre-feasibility study), Kim countered, "That’s completely untrue; the objective data is clear. It is common for routes to be changed during the main feasibility study after the pre-feasibility study. In fact, out of 24 expressway projects pursued since 2000, 14 had their routes changed."

Addressing the claim that Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Heeryong was already aware of land owned by Kim Keonhee’s family in Byeongsan-ri, Gangsang-myeon, Yangpyeong County during the National Assembly audit in October last year, Kim said, "I was present during the questioning at that time, and the main issue was about certain plots of land and whether their zoning had been changed. I believe the land near the Gangsang-myeon endpoint, which is now being raised as a problem, and the land discussed during last October’s audit were considered separate issues."

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