Controversy Over Resignation Pressure on Hwang Mu-seong... "Lee Jae-myung, Prove It Through a Special Prosecutor If You're Confident"

[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] Hwang Mu-seong, former president of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, expressed his stance on Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, saying, "If you are so confident, prove it through a special prosecutor." This was a rebuttal to Lee's camp, which had described the 'resignation pressure suspicion' surrounding former President Hwang as a 'staged act.'

On the 28th, former President Hwang released a statement, clarifying the reasons for revealing the conversation he had with former Development Project Director Yuhan Gi and addressing related suspicions, saying, "I have no reason to stage a fake act."

Former President Hwang explained the reason for releasing the recorded conversation, stating, "It was an unreasonable and irrational matter that caused me great shame, so I kept it to myself. However, after seeing former Mayor Lee Jae-myung's Daejang-dong Gate, I could not help but deeply regret it."

Regarding claims that he stepped down from his position as president due to being prosecuted on fraud charges, he acknowledged, "It is true that I was sentenced to probation," but explained, "I was merely a simple introducer acting in good faith." Former President Hwang was prosecuted on fraud charges in June 2014, the year after he was appointed president of Seongnam Urban Development Corporation. The first trial court sentenced him to 10 months in prison, but the appellate court and the Supreme Court acquitted some charges and sentenced him to 6 months in prison with a 2-year probation.

Concerning the suspicion that the Daejang-dong project bidding guidelines, which are central to the current issue, were revised after former President Hwang submitted his resignation, he said, "I remember attending the Investment Review Committee at the time and discussing that the corporation would invest more than 50% and receive more than 50% of the project profits," adding, "I told the prosecutor that the subsequent board of directors and city council standing committee resolutions would have been consistent with that content."

He continued, "However, the current bidding guidelines confirmed by the investigative agency show that the project profit was fixed at 182.2 billion KRW," and said, "If that content needed to be changed, it should have gone through the Investment Review Committee, the board of directors, and the city council standing committee resolutions again." Former President Hwang added, "I do not think the staff would have reviewed this and changed it without going through me, the president at the time," and "I cannot help but suspect that this change was the act of certain malicious forces."

Meanwhile, on the 27th, Lee's camp spokesperson Park Chan-dae issued a statement saying, "The pressure for resignation and the reasons for former President Hwang's resignation are quite different from what has been reported so far," and added, "Former President Hwang should apologize profusely."