No response to questions about the 'Osan Bird Park' project leads to abusive messages
"A 5-term lawmaker used words unfit to speak" protests met with "Sent wrongly to a junior"
Ahn Min-seok, Co-Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea's COVID-19 National Crisis Overcoming Committee (center), is speaking at the 1st plenary meeting of the COVID-19 National Crisis Overcoming Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 8th. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] It has been revealed that Ahn Minseok, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, sent text messages containing abusive language to a private investor building an ecological experience center called 'Bird Park' at Osan City Hall in Gyeonggi Province.
According to 'Yonhap News' on the 25th, Hwang, the CEO of Osan Bird Park, disclosed the text messages exchanged with Representative Ahn on the 9th and 10th of last month and the 7th of this month.
The text messages revealed by CEO Hwang show that Representative Ahn asked about the Bird Park project, including questions about the relationship between CEO Hwang and Osan Mayor Kwak Sangwook, as well as the relationship with the CEO of JS General Construction, the contractor.
In the messages, on the 7th at around 7:41 PM, Representative Ahn sent a text saying, "The current construction has expanded far beyond the letter of intent, which surprised me. An explanation is needed." When CEO Hwang did not reply for 40 minutes, Ahn sent an abusive message saying, "XXX is not responding."
Eleven minutes later, CEO Hwang protested, saying, "For a five-term lawmaker to say such unspeakable words, whatever happens next is your responsibility," and added, "I will hold a press conference to say that this person, who not only fails to offer good faith help to a sincere private investor but also sends texts with unspeakable curses every night, is a five-term lawmaker of Osan."
Seventeen minutes later, Representative Ahn apologized in a reply, saying, "It was wrong to send that to a junior. Please understand."
According to Yonhap News, CEO Hwang was reportedly afraid of suffering disadvantages if he did not respond to Representative Ahn's questions, so he had no choice but to answer via text messages late into the night.
Just before sending the abusive message, at around 7:26 PM on the 7th, Representative Ahn asked CEO Hwang about his relationship with the CEO of JS General Construction, saying, "If it is uncomfortable to ask via text message, I will send a formal inquiry from the lawmaker's office," and added, "At that moment, legal binding force arises. So this method might be better."
The Operations Committee of the Osan City Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea issued a statement on the 18th calling for a complete review of the Osan Bird Park project. The facility is scheduled to open next month. / Photo by Yonhap News
Meanwhile, the Osan Bird Park project involves expanding the civil service office on the west side of Osan City Hall and creating facilities such as a parrot flight area, botanical garden, aquarium, and rest spaces. CEO Hwang is a private investor who plans to invest 8.5 billion KRW to build Bird Park at Osan City Hall, donate it to the city, and then operate the facility. CEO Hwang also operates 'Gyeongju Bird Park' in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk Province.
Osan Bird Park has currently surpassed 80% completion and is scheduled to open next month. However, the Democratic Party Osan City Committee Operations Committee, chaired by Representative Ahn, issued a statement on the 18th calling for a "comprehensive review" of the Osan Bird Park project.
In the statement, the Operations Committee pointed out, "There was not a single public hearing during the promotion process, so citizens' opinions were not reflected, and plans to bring birds and animals into the city hall amid risks of COVID-19 and avian influenza have raised health safety issues and public interest controversies."
They urged, "It is clear that the amplification of various problems is an issue, and even now, the project should be corrected in the right direction to find alternatives that citizens can agree with."
A post written by Jo Jae-hoon, a Democratic Party member of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly, on Facebook on the 23rd. / Photo by Yonhap News
Regarding this, Jo Jaehoon, a member of the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly from the same party, expressed dissatisfaction on his Facebook on the 23rd, saying, "I told him to do something big, but he seems to have become a small-time boss in the alleys of Osan."
Targeting Representative Ahn, Assemblyman Jo criticized, "In Lee Munyeol's novel 'Our Twisted Hero,' Um Seokdae appeared in Osan. I will call him An Seokdae," adding, "Omnipotent, arrogant, and self-willed." However, the post was changed to 'private' about three hours after it was posted.
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