[4·15 General Election] The Ambiguous Stock 'Final Issue' of Daegu Dalseo-gap Candidate Hong Seok-jun

Kyungsillyeon Inquires the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission About Violations of the Public Officials Ethics Act

From the left, Kwon Taek-heung of the Democratic Party, Hong Seok-jun of the United Future Party, Kim Gi-mok of the Minsheng Party, Lee Seong-woo of the Our Republican Party, and independent candidate Kwak Dae-hoon.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters, Reporter Park Dong-wook] As the April 15 general election enters its final phase, the Daegu Dalseo-gap district is heating up with disputes surrounding allegations of wealth accumulation against Hong Seok-jun, the candidate from the United Future Party.

Hong has responded by threatening to sue independent candidate Kwak Dae-hoon, who has been leading the charge on this issue, for defamation against a prominent candidate. This has led not only other party candidates but also civic groups to join in raising suspicions, further intensifying the controversy.

On the 9th, the Daegu Economic Justice Practice Citizens' Coalition announced that it had sent an inquiry regarding whether Hong violated the Public Officials Ethics Act to the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission and Daegu City on the 8th. The fact that Hong, who served as Daegu City's Director of Economic Affairs until just before running for office, holds over 8,000 shares in companies selected as excellent enterprises by Daegu City is an issue that inevitably raises suspicion.

The controversy over Hong's wealth accumulation rapidly spread after Kwak, who left the United Future Party during the nomination process on the 7th, held a press conference demanding clarification, making it the biggest issue in this district during the latter half of the election.

Kwak raised questions about the formation of Hong's declared assets of 3.67 billion KRW and the 8,436 shares he holds in CIS Co., Ltd., a KOSDAQ-listed company. CIS, which was certified as a 'Star Company' by Daegu City in 2010 and received an 800 million KRW youth startup fund investment in 2015, has rapidly grown by listing on KOSDAQ in 2017 and building a second factory in the New Seong Innovation City.

However, the period during which this company grew with various supports from Daegu City coincides with Hong's tenure as an economic executive in Daegu City. Except for a training period in 2018, Hong served as Director of the Creative Economy Industry Bureau, Director of the Advanced Industry Medical Bureau, Head of the Future Industry Promotion Headquarters, and Director of the Economic Bureau since 2013.

During a TV debate hosted by the Dalseo District Election Commission on the 8th, fierce exchanges took place among candidates over this issue.

At the debate, Kwak criticized, "Hong and his family's assets exceed 3.6 billion KRW, with 88% held in cash deposits. Many citizens are shocked at how someone who grew up delivering newspapers and then became a public servant has accumulated such wealth."

Democratic Party candidate Kwon Taek-heung also claimed, "Hong participated in the Dalgubeol Angel Investment Mart held in March 2017 alongside the CEO of CIS. Their meeting coincides with the timing of Hong's stock purchase. Since then, he has enjoyed about twice the market price gain." Minsheng Party candidate Kim Gi-mok raised his voice, saying, "While the local economy is struggling, Hong has been rolling money just for his household economy. He is not qualified to represent the region."

In response, Hong lamented, "It is regrettable that policies have disappeared and only negatives and slanders are rampant. I will not be discouraged by this and will move forward focusing only on the residents."

Meanwhile, in a public opinion poll conducted on the 6th by Ace Research commissioned by Daegu CBS, Yeongnam Ilbo, and KBS Daegu, Hong led with 50.2%, beating Kwon Taek-heung's 24.6% by 25.6 percentage points. The incumbent independent candidate Kwak Dae-hoon ranked third with 17.7%. Following were Our Republican Party candidate Lee Seong-woo with 2.2% and Minsheng Party candidate Kim Gi-mok with 1.6%.

The related survey was conducted using an automated response method with a structured questionnaire targeting men and women aged 18 and over residing in the Dalseo-gap electoral district. The sample size was 515 (out of 43,508 call attempts, 14,699 successful calls, 515 completed responses, response rate 3.5%), with a margin of error of ±4.3 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.