Lee Jae-myung on Lee Hwa-young's Daejang-dong Involvement Rumors: "It's Easier to Link Just Because We Share the Same Surname Lee"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential primary candidate, attended the urgent debate on the legislation for recovering development profits titled "How to Recover Development Profits?" held on the 28th at the Central Veterans Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, and gave a congratulatory speech. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, said on the 28th regarding the allegations that Lee Hwa-young, CEO of Kintex, is involved with Hwacheon Daeyu Asset Management (Hwacheon Daeyu), the developer company of the Daejang-dong development project, "It would be much faster to link us by saying we are of the same nationality and both named Lee."

On the same day, after delivering a congratulatory speech at a forum on the development profit recovery system held at the Central Veterans Hall in Yeouido, Seoul, Lee responded to reporters' question, "What do you think about reports that CEO Lee is related to Hwacheon Daeyu?" Earlier, controversy arose when it was revealed that Lee Han-sung, a director of Hwacheon Daeyu and CEO of its affiliate Cheonhwa Dongin No. 1, was a secretary to CEO Lee during his time as a member of the National Assembly.

Lee said, "(Lee Han-sung) reportedly worked as a secretary for one year around 2004. In 2004, I was not even involved in politics," adding, "I became mayor in 2010, so how can you link me to a secretary of CEO Lee whom I did not even know six years earlier?" Regarding reports of gap investment allegations involving Kim Yong, former spokesperson of Gyeonggi Provincial Government and current general deputy head of his presidential campaign, Lee said, "I will check and get back to you. This is the first time I am hearing about it."

When asked whether he was unaware that Kim Man-bae, the major shareholder of Hwacheon Daeyu, and lawyer Nam Wook, CEO of Cheonhwa Dongin No. 4, were part of the 'Seongnam Utd Consortium' involved in the Daejang-dong development project, he denied it, saying, "I had no idea."

He explained, "I thought the group that initially purchased the land, forced LH to give up, and bribed politicians had been dismantled through investigation and arrest," adding, "To secure credibility, we requested that financial institutions lead the bidding for the project rights, and a consortium including financial institutions participated. We believed it was led by financial institutions, and we neither knew nor were informed about who internally held shares within that group."