Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung is responding during the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province on the 18th.
[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, described the allegations of preferential treatment in the Yangpyeong Gongheung District urban development project involving the mother-in-law of Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential primary candidate, as "clear illegal administration" and stated, "I think it should be investigated."
On the 18th, Lee appeared as a witness at the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Office in Suwon. In response to a question from Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Min-chul regarding the Yangpyeong Gongheung District allegations, he said, "At that time, the Yangpyeong County Governor, who is now a member of the People Power Party, refused the LH rental district project application and then granted the development rights to a relative of candidate Yoon Seok-yeol, according to reports I have seen."
He added, "From an administrative and legal perspective, the project implementation approval period expires after a certain time," and claimed, "The Yangpyeong County Governor retroactively extended the approval after it had expired, which is an unacceptable illegal administration."
He further stated, "Blocking other applications and immediately granting approval to allow development profits is clearly preferential treatment in administration," and added, "I think it should be investigated."
Earlier, the Yangpyeong Gyeong Sil Ryeon (Yangpyeong Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice) raised suspicions that in early this year, LH had promoted a national rental housing project in the Gongheung District area in 2012, but after opposition from Yangpyeong County, the urban development project applied for by the mother-in-law of candidate Yoon Seok-yeol was approved within six months, resulting in 80 billion KRW in development profits.
The Gongheung District urban development project was completed more than 1 year and 8 months after the approval period had expired. Yangpyeong County issued a late extension notice one month before completion, applying the extension retroactively for 2 years, which sparked controversy over preferential treatment.
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