Daechang-dong Responsibility... Lee Jae-myung, "People Power Party" Kim Jin-tae, "Blaming Others"

Twitter capture of former lawmaker Kim Jin-tae

[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Kim Jin-tae, Chairman of the People Power Party's Special Committee for Public Verification of Lee Jae-myung's Corruption (Chairman of the Chuncheon Gap Party Committee), directly refuted Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung's statement during the first TV debate of the 20th presidential election, broadcast live by the three major terrestrial broadcasters on the 3rd, that "the responsibility for the Daejang-dong scandal lies with the People Power Party."

On the 4th, Chairman Kim said on SNS, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung said eight times in yesterday's (3rd) debate that the responsibility for the Daejang-dong scandal lies with the People Power Party. It was all about blaming the People Power Party..."

He continued, "Since 2014, the Seongnam City Council has been dominated by the Democratic Party, and a report was submitted warning that the public-private joint method was very risky," adding, "Lee Jae-myung himself designed it and then shifted the blame onto others. It seems he refused to bring the documents fearing such evidence would be presented," directly attacking the candidate.

Regarding the Democratic Party Gangwon Province election committee's protest statement about Yoon Seok-yeol's remarks on additional THAAD deployment, Chairman Kim countered, "Candidate Yoon did not specifically say he would deploy it in Gangwon Province; he said it is a military decision to be made anywhere, whether in the Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon Province, Chungcheong Province, or Gyeongsang Province."

He then sharply warned, "Even if Candidate Lee did not perform well in the debate, do not nitpick by exploiting regional sentiments."

The candidates are taking a commemorative photo during the 2022 presidential election TV debate.
[Photo by Joint Press Corps]

Earlier, during the presidential candidate TV debate held the previous day, when Justice Party candidate Sim Sang-jung asked, "Accounting officer Jung Young-hak favored Hwacheon Daeyu, and Kim Man-bae and Yoo Dong-gyu were arrested on bribery charges. Do you still think your opinion is valid?" Candidate Lee replied, "Let me say again, I at least tried to recover it, but the People Power Party blocked it."

Also, when Yoon Seok-yeol said, "Candidate Lee, you talk about the People Power Party regarding the Daejang-dong issue, but last year, we did not talk about profit recovery concerning the design, costs, profits, and the use of various residential spaces such as apartments, parks, and roads related to the development project," Lee responded, "That's because the People Power Party blocked it."

In response, Yoon pointed out, "It was not because the People Power Party blocked it, but because the mayor proceeded with and planned the project," adding, "You said Kim Man-bae and Yoo Dong-gyu were indicted but that it had nothing to do with you, yet you claim, 'I conceived the project.' How did you design it so that those who invested 350 million won (Hwacheon Daeyu, etc.) would make over 1 trillion won?" putting pressure on him.

When Candidate Lee avoided a direct answer and evaded with other words, Yoon pleaded, "Please answer my question."

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party Gangwon Provincial Party stated, "Candidate Yoon mentioning Gangwon Province, Chungcheong Province, Gyeongsang Province, and other parts of the Korean Peninsula as possible sites for additional THAAD deployment tramples on Gangwon Province's dream to become a center of peace and prosperity on the Korean Peninsula," demanding, "Candidate Yoon must apologize to the people of Gangwon Province."

The People Power Party Gangwon Provincial Party countered, "Candidate Yoon said THAAD could be deployed anywhere nationwide, and the Democratic Party distorted this," rebutting the claim.