Chae I-bae "Park Deok-heum Should Have Avoided the Land Committee Himself"

Former Bareunmirae Party lawmaker Chae I-bae (Photo by Yonhap News)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hana Na] Former Bareunmirae Party (now People Power Party) lawmaker Chae I-bae criticized People Power Party lawmaker Park Deok-heum, saying, "At this point, he should have voluntarily avoided the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee (국토위)."

On the 22nd, former lawmaker Chae said on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "There is a lot of controversy as a subject of political conflict right now, but in my view, if it reaches this level, he should have voluntarily avoided that duty. If he owns a construction company and his family members all operate it and make a living from it, he should recuse himself," criticizing Park's activities on the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee.

Regarding Park's explanation about the blind trust, former lawmaker Chae said, "He claims that there is no problem because he put the stocks in a blind trust, but in the case of unlisted company stocks, they are rarely sold when put into a blind trust. So it is ineffective. Some people even drag lawsuits for four years over whether there is a conflict of interest related to their duties. So there are even people who do not put their stocks in a blind trust. This is especially true for listed companies. Listed company stocks can be sold once they are put into a blind trust," he rebutted.

He added, "Therefore, the stock blind trust system needs to be strengthened a bit more. It is about registering conflicts of interest so that it can be monitored what stocks or assets a person holds and whether they are trying to gain benefits from them," and said, "At the same time, they verify themselves. They think about whether a conflict of interest might arise here."

He continued, "There are even opinions that people who own multiple apartments should not serve on the Land Committee, and yet he operates a construction company and even blocked related laws (the 'Three Strikes Out' law) during the 20th National Assembly. That was something that was institutionally not allowed," he pointed out.

Meanwhile, Park is under suspicion of conflict of interest for allegedly receiving preferential orders worth up to 100 billion won from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport and its affiliated agencies, which are overseen by the Land Committee, through construction companies where he and his family are major shareholders during his five years on the committee.

Criticism is also coming from within the same party regarding this scandal. On the 21st, Choi Hyung-doo, the party's floor spokesperson, said at the National Assembly, "The People Power Party has decided to form an emergency special investigation committee," and added, "We plan to quickly uncover the truth and take appropriate measures."

On the afternoon of the 21st, Park held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, to explain the conflict of interest controversy related to the Land Committee, stating that he put the stocks of the related company into a blind trust in 2014.