Jin Joong-kwon: "It Shouldn't End with Park Deok-heum's Party Resignation... A System to Prevent 'Conflict of Interest' Is Needed"

Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon giving a lecture at the Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade seminar held at Choi In-ah Bookstore in Gangnam-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 2nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Yeon-ju] Former Dongyang University professor Jin Joong-kwon stated on the 23rd regarding People Power Party lawmaker Park Deok-heum, who resigned from the party amid allegations of a 'conflict of interest' after a construction company owned by his family, the major shareholder, received over 100 billion won in contracts from supervised institutions, saying, "It should not end with just the resignation."

In a post on his Facebook on the same day, former professor Jin said, "This is not a matter to be approached politically but should be resolved with sincerity."

Lawmaker Park is under suspicion of receiving contracts and new technology usage fees amounting to hundreds of billions of won from Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport-affiliated organizations over the past five years through construction companies registered under his and his family's names.

Park served as a member of the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee from April 2015 to May 2019 and was also the opposition party's whip in the latter half of the 20th National Assembly.

Claiming innocence against the allegations, Park eventually left the People Power Party, saying, "I do not want to burden the party with a heavy load."

In response, former professor Jin emphasized, "Lawmaker Park Deok-heum's resignation should not be the end. There is a need to establish a system that prevents conflicts of interest in advance when assigning standing committee positions."

He added, "The fundamental problem is that someone with a family running a construction company could join the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee, where conflicts of interest are highly likely. Each standing committee should conduct its own internal review to see if there are other such cases."

He continued, "Misconduct can occur in any party. What matters is how it is handled," adding, "Everyone knows the right way. Just do it straightforwardly without hesitation."