"Supporters Can't Even See the News... It Constitutes Personal Gain"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Ju-hee] Jeon Jae-soo, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, saying it is "disappointing" that it was revealed he invested in defense industry-related stocks shortly after the presidential election, causing controversy.
On the 17th, Jeon appeared on BBS Radio's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal' and said, "We lost the presidential election. Narrowly, it means Lee personally lost the election, but broadly and significantly, the Democratic Party lost, and over 16 million people who supported the Democratic Party lost," he said.
He added, "Of course, anyone can trade stocks. Anyone can participate in the capital market," but questioned, "So many people who supported (after the election) couldn't even watch the news and are lying around, yet he alone is clear-headed and trading stocks?"
He continued, "Considering the supporters, as a presidential candidate of a country and the Democratic Party's candidate, if he thinks about that, stock trading for personal gain and private interest is clearly disappointing to those who supported him," he pointed out.
According to the disclosure of lawmakers' assets released on the 27th of last month, Lee acquired 1,670 shares of Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering and 690 shares of Hyundai Heavy Industries between late April and early May, totaling 231.25 million KRW. Both companies are classified as defense contractors supplying naval vessels. In political circles, there were criticisms that Lee, a member of the National Defense Committee of the National Assembly, owning stocks in these companies cannot be free from conflicts of interest related to his duties.
These stocks were not listed in the candidate asset report Lee submitted during the presidential election earlier this year. Regarding this, the Democratic Party explained, "These stocks were held before deciding to run in the by-election on June 1 and are unrelated to National Defense Committee activities," adding, "To dispel unnecessary misunderstandings, a blind trust review was requested from the National Assembly on August 30."
However, despite this explanation, as the ruling party repeatedly pointed out the issue of conflict of interest, Lee announced through a media notice on the 13th that he had sold all the stocks.
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