Won Hee-ryong "How Did Lee Jae-myung Know About Yoo Dong-gyu's Suicide Attempt... Raises Surveillance Suspicion"

Lee Jae-myung "Heard that Yoo Dong-gyu took medicine... don't remember who said it"
Won Hee-ryong "Shocking fact but don't remember? Hard to accept"

Former Jeju Governor and People Power Party presidential primary candidate Won Hee-ryong is answering reporters' questions at the Daegu City Party Office on the morning of the 20th.
Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Won Heeryong, former governor of Jeju and a presidential primary candidate of the People Power Party, questioned how Lee Jae-myung, governor of Gyeonggi Province, knew about the attempted suicide of Yoo Dong-gyu, a key figure in the 'Daejang-dong scandal' and former head of planning at Seongnam Urban Development Corporation.

On the 21st, Won posted on Facebook, "Lee said (at the National Assembly audit on the 20th) that he heard about Yoo's attempted suicide during the search and seizure, which means he had prior information," and criticized, "Contrary to his claim that Yoo was 'not a close aide,' wasn't he monitoring every move?"

Won stated, "It must be revealed from whom and how Lee obtained this information," adding, "The public will not accept the claim that he does not remember who told him such shocking information."

He continued, "The public's reaction that 'Yoo Dong-gyu was almost killed' is understandable," and argued, "The prosecution has failed to gain public trust due to lenient search and seizure. A special prosecutor and a parliamentary investigation must begin immediately." However, Won has since deleted this Facebook post.

Earlier, on the 20th, at the National Assembly Land, Infrastructure and Transport Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province, when asked if he had recently contacted Yoo Dong-gyu, Lee replied, "I have not spoken to this person recently, to the point that I don't remember," and "From what I heard, since last year, due to divorce issues, there were family problems, and I heard that he took medicine to attempt suicide around the time of his arrest."

In response, when People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye pressed, "How do you know he was lying down after taking medicine, something only he could know?" Lee answered, "He is not someone completely unrelated; he is someone I know through people close to me," implying he heard it from an aide. When asked again, "Who among your close aides reported this to you?" Lee evaded the question, saying, "I don't clearly remember."