"If the regime is entrusted to Lee Jae-myung, it will undoubtedly become a gangster regime"
Photo of a stack of money additionally disclosed by Mr. Park Cheol-min. Photo by Lawyer Jang Young-ha
[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Park Cheolmin, a former member of the Seongnam International Mafia faction who raised allegations of collusion between Lee Jae-myung, the former governor of Gyeonggi Province and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, and organized crime groups, has revealed additional evidence from prison. Park stated his intention to formally accuse Lee by compiling evidence such as recorded conversations and accounts under assumed names.
On the 26th, Park, through his legal representative lawyer Jang Youngha, released a statement of fact asserting, "If you entrust power to presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung, I can say with certainty it will be a gangster regime," and disclosed additional photos of stacks of cash.
Previously, Park had released two photos of stacks of cash, but one of them was found to be a photo he had posted on his Facebook in November 2018, which raised questions about the credibility of his testimony. In response, lawyer Jang held a press conference on the 20th and said, "(Although it was not his own money) the reason for posting it on Facebook was out of vanity and bravado."
However, the photos of the cash stacks released by Park this time are different from the two previously disclosed. Park claimed that the money shown in the photos amounts to a total of 370 million KRW and that it was distributed between Lee and a certain police officer.
Park Cheol-min, a former member of the Seongnam International Mafia organization. Photo by Lawyer Jang Young-ha.
In another statement of fact, Park said, "If former Governor Lee Jae-myung and the Seongnam International Mafia are not in a symbiotic relationship, then my words may be extreme, but I stake my life on it," adding, "I will gather all the evidence and soon, together with lawyer Jang and the legal team, formally file a complaint with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission."
He continued, "I will also formally accuse ruling party lawmakers who slander with absurd stories of defamation and personal information leakage," and said, "I have secured recorded conversations with one of the international faction members whom the governor trusts the most, so wait and see. After this prison term ends, I want to learn Japanese cuisine skills, run a bar, and live a normal family life. I have no intention or conditions to gain anything by reporting this case."
Meanwhile, on the 22nd, the Democratic Party announced that it had filed a complaint with the prosecution against lawyer Jang, who raised the allegations of Lee’s involvement with gangsters, on charges including violation of the Public Official Election Act.
The complaint stated, "Lawyer Jang publicly disclosed false information about candidate Lee with the intent to prevent his election and openly revealed false facts, damaging Lee’s reputation."
Shin Sunil, head of the Democratic Party’s Civil Complaints Legal Bureau, after submitting the complaint to the Seoul Central District Prosecutors’ Office, told reporters, "Lawyer Jang, a member of the People Power Party, colluded with Park Cheolmin, a gangster with a drug conviction, to repeatedly spread false information about candidate Lee," criticizing, "This act misleads the presidential election electorate and seriously undermines the fairness and objectivity of the presidential election."
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