"Geumjang Watch, Never Made"
Yoo Young-ha "No Date Dial... Lee Man-hee's Watch is Fake"
Lee Jun-seok "No Watches Made Except Silver One"
Lee Man-hee, the president of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), is holding a press conference on the COVID-19 situation on the 2nd at the Shincheonji Palace of Peace in Gapyeong-gun, Gyeonggi-do. The watch on President Lee's wrist, engraved with the name of former President Park Geun-hye, attracts attention. Photo by Moon Honam munonam@
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Suwan] Lee Man-hee, the chairman of Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), appeared wearing a wristwatch engraved with the name of former President Park Geun-hye at a press conference on the 2nd, sparking controversy. Meanwhile, Park’s side stated that the watch in question is a fake.
At the press conference held in the afternoon at the Shincheonji training center in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi Province, regarding the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19), Chairman Lee was wearing a Blue House commemorative watch engraved with former President Park’s autograph and a phoenix emblem.
During the press conference, when Chairman Lee prostrated himself on the floor to apologize, the gold-plated watch on his wrist was captured on camera.
As controversy arose over Chairman Lee wearing a ‘Park Geun-hye watch,’ Lee Geon-yong, an organizational team leader who worked as an administrative officer at the Blue House during Park Geun-hye’s administration, stated, “Only one type of silver watch was ordered to be produced.”
On the same day, Lee posted on his Facebook, “At the beginning of President Park’s inauguration, there was a report regarding the production of the presidential watch, and only one type of silver watch was ordered to be produced. Subsequently, various souvenirs such as desk clocks and wall clocks were produced, but no gold-plated watches were ever made.”
Yu Young-ha, a lawyer and close aide to former President Park, also stated, “There was no gold-plated watch, and the watch face did not have a date display. Chairman Lee’s watch is fake.”
Lee Jun-seok, a Supreme Council member of the United Future Party who was recruited as an emergency committee member in 2012 when Park was the Saenuri Party’s emergency committee chairman and was called a ‘Park Geun-hye kid,’ also wrote on his Facebook, “The watch is fake,” adding, “According to common testimony from people who worked at the Blue House, no watches other than the silver ones were made during the previous administration.”
Kim Jin-tae, a United Future Party lawmaker, also wrote on Facebook, “It seems the watch is fake. The Park Geun-hye watch is silver, not gold-plated like that,” adding, “Moreover, there was no Park Geun-hye watch with a date display. I have never seen such a gold-plated watch.”
Kim said, “It is suspicious that he wore that watch on a day like today. Would someone who has been accused of murder by the current administration want to flaunt their closeness to former President Park?” He added, “Rather, it might have been a message saying, ‘Look at me, I am close to Park Geun-hye and colluding with the opposition party, so please treat me well.’”
He continued, “Chairman Lee Man-hee should clearly reveal from whom he received this watch. Otherwise, he must take responsibility for attempting a lowly political manipulation against the entire nation.”
Meanwhile, as the controversy continued, Shincheonji stated, “The watch Chairman Lee wore at the press conference was not directly received from former President Park but was received from a believer (follower).”
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