Park Young-sun's 'Tokyo Apartment' Controversy... Ruling Party: "MB Administration's Private Surveillance Self-Revealed" vs Opposition: "Doubts Not Resolved"

Park Young-sun "Disposed of Japanese Apartment in February"

Park Young-sun, Democratic Party of Korea candidate for Seoul mayor.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 22nd, the ruling and opposition parties continued their disputes over Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, owning an apartment in Tokyo, Japan. The ruling party claimed it was due to "political persecution during the past Lee Myung-bak (MB) administration," while the opposition criticized Park for falling into the "'Tochak Waegu' (native pro-Japanese traitor) frame."

Jin Seong-jun, a Democratic Party lawmaker and head of Park's campaign strategy planning headquarters, appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' on the same day and rebutted the opposition's claim that Park's ownership of the Tokyo apartment was speculative, saying, "It is not speculative."

He said, "It is about revealing and exposing the ugly private surveillance committed by the previous administration. Park was at the forefront of uncovering the truth about BBK during the 2007 presidential election. Because of this, she was hated by the Lee Myung-bak administration and suffered political retaliation."

He continued, "The prosecution raided the law firm where Park's husband worked, and the National Intelligence Service conducted private surveillance and reported the information. As a result, he could no longer work at that law firm, resigned, and went to Japan to work, purchasing the apartment there at that time. Even that was sold last February," he explained.

However, when asked if the apartment was sold in February due to election considerations, he replied, "Since he no longer works in Japan, he was able to sell it immediately. Whether it was intentionally kept or not will be confirmed and then I will inform you."

Earlier, Park stated that she disposed of the apartment last month. This means she sold the apartment shortly after officially declaring her candidacy for Seoul mayor on January 26. However, according to data released by the National Election Commission on the 19th, Park's asset declaration included a Tokyo apartment in her spouse's name valued at 973 million KRW.

Regarding this, Park said on her Facebook the day before, "My husband was forced out of his company after President Lee Myung-bak took office in 2008 and went to Japan, where he found a job and bought the apartment." She added, "That apartment was sold last February," and further explained, "The asset declaration includes it because it was based on the status as of the end of December last year."

Park Young-sun, the Democratic Party of Korea's candidate for Seoul mayor, is announcing the policy pledge "Providing Eco-friendly Free School Meals with a Mother's Heart" in front of Gyeongsu Elementary School on Ttukseom-ro, Seongdong-gu, Seoul, on the 22nd. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

In response, the opposition party demanded that Park explain the suspicions in more detail. Hwang Gyu-hwan, the standing deputy spokesperson of the People Power Party, issued a statement saying, "Park said she sold the Tokyo apartment last February, but none of the public's doubts have been properly resolved," adding, "The issue of Park, who was involved in pro-Japanese accusations while in the Democratic Party, owning a Tokyo apartment is a matter of great public betrayal. Her casual remark on social media telling people to 'stop raising the issue' is neither a responsible attitude nor anything more than the Democratic Party's typical 'scapegoating.'"

He continued, "Park should come forward and explain the suspicions raised by the public so far and provide a detailed explanation of the disposal process and related matters," emphasizing, "The asset declaration at the end of December is simply a legal timing issue, and the public has the right to know Park's current asset status before making a wise judgment."

He also said, "Unless she is trying to appeal to the public that 'there is no problem because it was disposed of' as a 'disposal for candidacy' out of impatience before the election, Park should answer directly so that no suspicion remains. The public still has many questions," he added.

People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung pointed out, "With Park's Tokyo apartment as a trigger, the Democratic Party has fallen into the 'Tochak Waegu' frame they created themselves. It is self-inflicted."

He criticized, "The term 'Tochak Waegu' itself is a racially discriminatory hate expression," and stressed, "Let's not imitate the Democratic Party's wrong actions. The more the Democratic Party engages in low-level political attacks, the more our party should show political dignity."

He added, "The public will no longer fall for such provocations," and said, "Rather, those who use hateful expressions like 'Tochak Waegu' and promote racial discrimination will face severe judgment."