Court Confirms Cancellation of Severe Disciplinary Action Against Namyangju City Official
Jogwanghan: "Those Who Fabricated Charges and Conducted a Public Opinion Trial Must Be Held Accountable"
[Asia Economy Reporter Ra Young-cheol] Amid the spreading allegations of 'corporate card misuse' involving Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate at the center of the 'excessive protocol' controversy, a post Lee made during his tenure as Governor of Gyeonggi Province demanding severe disciplinary action against Namyangju city officials is being circulated as a so-called 'double standard' controversy.
Some quarters perceive this as an ironic situation where "Kim Hye-kyung, who is under suspicion of 'corporate card misuse,' has inadvertently acted as a catalyst reminding the public of Lee’s post that had gradually been forgotten."
Lee’s post began to spread after Namyangju Mayor Cho Gwang-han publicly released it to the media along with the court’s confirmation of the cancellation of severe disciplinary action against Namyangju city officials on the 10th.
Mayor Cho stated in a press release, "On the 25th of last month, the Uijeongbu District Court ruled to cancel the disciplinary action taken by Gyeonggi Province against a Namyangju city level 6 official (Team Leader A), and yesterday (the 9th), the Ministry of Justice decided to abandon the appeal, concluding the case after 1 year and 2 months."
Mayor Cho began, "'Cancellation of suspension and other disciplinary actions'?it took exactly 1 year and 2 months for these seven words to be finalized," then asked, "Now, the retaliatory and illegal disciplinary actions by Gyeonggi Province should be canceled. But who and how will compensate for the enormous litigation costs and mental damages...?"
He continued, "More heartbreaking and lifelong humiliating wounds than the absurd disciplinary actions are the verbal abuses by the two individuals mentioned below."
He then said, "I would like to remind you once again of a post Lee Jae-myung made on SNS on November 23, 2020, when he was serving as Governor of Gyeonggi Province," and disclosed part of Lee’s post.
The following is Lee Jae-myung’s SNS post.
"Title: There are no exceptions in eradicating corruption.
There can be no division of ruling or opposition parties, or sides, in eradicating illegal administration and corruption. (Omitted) Namyangju city officials diverted half of the consolation goods meant for nurses struggling with COVID-19, so Gyeonggi Province demanded severe disciplinary action against the related officials after an audit. (Omitted) If anyone uses public office for private gain or engages in illegal administration, regardless of who they are or which side they belong to, holding them accountable is the fair way."
Mayor Cho said, "This is a post directly written and uploaded by candidate Lee Jae-myung on SNS," and directly questioned Lee, "I am truly curious about what you think regarding the various allegations, including the misuse of your spouse’s business promotion expenses during your tenure as governor."
He added, "The 'fair world' you emphasized, where 'anyone... regardless of side, is held accountable,' must be created by public officials who keep their promises. If not, it will be recorded as another lie."
Mayor Cho particularly pointed out, "Candidate Lee posted malicious expressions on SNS, followed by hundreds of thousands, treating Namyangju city officials as criminals, which drew over 290 comments and nearly 2,900 'likes.' Being driven by a vengeful desire to 'deal with them,' creating false accusations against innocent officials and conducting a public trial must be held accountable."
Mayor Cho also referred to a press conference by the Gyeonggi Province spokesperson.
He said, "I would also like to highlight the content of the press conference held by Gyeonggi Province spokesperson Kim Hong-guk on December 2, 2020, which left indelible wounds on Namyangju city officials along with candidate Lee."
The following is the content of the Gyeonggi Province spokesperson’s press conference.
"Title: No exceptions in eradicating public office corruption. We will not stop the war against corruption.
The Namyangju city secretary office team leader diverted half of 20 gift certificates worth 25,000 won each, purchased to encourage medical staff on COVID-19 emergency duty, sharing them with secretary office staff and also using them personally.
It was confirmed that a significant portion of the gift certificates was handed over to key officials in the secretary office and general affairs department.
Diverting gift certificates purchased to encourage medical staff fighting COVID-19 in a manner different from the original plan is a serious and clear illegal act. Regardless of the amount, strict handling of intentional and illegal corruption is the basis of a fair audit."
Regarding this, Mayor Cho expressed anger, saying, "To falsely frame this as corruption, they cruelly trampled on the properly used amount of 250,000 won by using the most negative words such as 'diverted half,' 'private misuse,' and 'bribery.'"
He continued, "I want to ask how Gyeonggi Province, which declared eradication of corruption and fair audits, plans to judge and handle the various allegations against candidate Lee’s spouse."
He reiterated, "Gyeonggi Province must hold the responsible auditors and related parties accountable without any suspicion, applying the same standards used for our city and employees."
Mayor Cho said, "I sincerely hope that the anger and judgment over such absurd abuse of power and petty acts will not end with just me and our city officials and be swept under the rug..!!"
Mayor Cho’s statement has caused a stir in the public service community of Gyeonggi Province, including Namyangju city.
Meanwhile, although Gyeonggi Province has launched an audit regarding Kim Hye-kyung’s alleged misuse of public funds, controversy over fairness has arisen as the auditor is known to be a Minbyun (Lawyers for a Democratic Society) member appointed by Lee during his governorship.
Amid this, a former secretary office employee A has made explosive claims that they were also involved in so-called 'card splitting' related to Kim Hye-kyung, drawing attention to whether the 'corporate card misuse' allegations against Kim will escalate from audit to investigation.
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