Gwak Sang-do's Son Worked 7 Years at Hwacheon Daeyu... Lee Jae-myung's Camp Calls It "Opposition Party Gate's Dirty Trick"

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] As the opposition party raised suspicions of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong urban development project during Lee Jae-myung's tenure as mayor of Seongnam City, it has been confirmed that the son of Gwak Sang-do, a member of the People Power Party, worked for a long time at Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), which was identified as a preferential company.

On the 15th, Representative Gwak said in an interview with Hankook Ilbo, "My son has been working at Hwacheon Daeyu since 2015 and quit about 5 or 6 months ago." Regarding the circumstances of his son B's employment, he was reserved, saying, "What could be so special?"

Regarding his friendship with A, the owner of Hwacheon Daeyu and a former journalist, he replied, "I am a prosecutor, and I got to know A when he was a reporter covering the prosecution. That's all."

Earlier, the People Power Party sharpened their stance toward Governor Lee, asking, "Whose is Hwacheon Daeyu?" On the 15th, Kang Min-guk, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall and urged, "Governor Lee should remember that he cannot cover the sky with his palm and should clearly disclose the raised suspicions."

Heo Eun-ah, the chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, also emphasized in a statement on the same day, "The Daejang-dong development project is not Governor Lee's greatest achievement but his greatest suspicion," adding, "It is a real estate preferential treatment suspicion that has touched the public's nerve, and it is a major case in which a current governor leading the ruling party's approval ratings may be involved."

Kim Nam-jun, spokesperson for Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, posted on his Facebook on the 15th, announcing a strong response against the spread of false information related to the Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu) allegations surrounding Governor Lee.

Meanwhile, Kim Nam-jun, spokesperson for Governor Lee, introduced an article about B working at Hwacheon Daeyu on his Facebook on the same day, saying, "If we look at it by the standards applied to Governor Lee, the truth of the Hwacheon Daeyu controversy is an opposition party gate and an interest cartel of former prosecutors and legal journalists," warning, "Stop the low-level tricks trying to slander candidate Lee Jae-myung by any means."

He continued, "Those who spread false information should apologize quickly. This is the last chance," and warned of a strong response, saying, "We will no longer speak."