Kim Eui-gyeom "Investigate and Punish People Power Party Leaders First"
Hong Joon-pyo "If False Allegations Continue, Prison Before General Election"
Lee Jae-myung "Are You That Afraid of Lee Jae-myung?"
[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 22nd, Kim Eui-gyeom, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, raised his voice demanding "Investigate and punish the People Power Party's local government heads first" in response to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, receiving a summons from the prosecution regarding allegations of donations to Seongnam FC. This statement targeted Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo, who received 'Gyeongnam FC donations' from companies during his tenure as governor of Gyeongnam Province. Mayor Hong immediately retorted to Representative Kim, saying, "If you continue false accusations, you might end up in jail before the general election."
On the same day, Mayor Hong posted on his social media, "Representative Kim's missteps are already well-known, and his false accusations are also well-known," and directly criticized, "(Representative Kim) is now equating the fundraising campaign for Gyeongnam FC during his time as governor of Gyeongnam Province with Lee Jae-myung's third-party bribery case involving Seongnam FC."
Spokesperson Kim had raised the 'Cheongdam-dong drinking party suspicion,' alleging that President Yoon Seok-yeol and Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon had a drinking gathering in Cheongdam-dong, but this suspicion was proven false, which was pointed out with terms like 'missteps' and 'false accusations.' Speaking to reporters that day, Spokesperson Kim said, "If an investigation is to be conducted regarding the Seongnam FC case, the first to be investigated and examined should be Mayor Hong, who was governor of Gyeongnam Province, and local government heads from the ruling party."
However, Mayor Hong responded, "The fundraising campaign for Gyeongnam FC that I conducted was thoroughly investigated and closed during the Moon Jae-in administration, and Lee's case is a third-party bribery case similar to the Mir Foundation under former President Park Geun-hye, which is why he received a summons," explaining the difference by saying, "Even though both involved football club fundraising campaigns, the former Seongnam mayor received bribes with a value of hundreds of billions, whereas the donations I raised were purely support funds without any quid pro quo, which is why I was not booked."
He added, "Representative Kim, as a former Hankyoreh reporter who has covered legal affairs, should know this much, so it is regrettable that he is baselessly attacking me," and warned, "If you keep talking recklessly, you could face criminal charges. Please exercise restraint."
Mayor Hong had also clarified via social media in September regarding media reports comparing the two cases. He explained, "It is natural for local companies to voluntarily sponsor a civic football club seeing its financial difficulties, but when it becomes quid pro quo, a third-party bribery issue arises," and added, "In the case of the former Seongnam mayor, six companies donated a total of 16 billion KRW, but among them, Doosan Construction gained enormous profits from the change of use of the Jeongja-dong site, so only that part was considered quid pro quo and was sent with a prosecution opinion."
Meanwhile, Lee, who was conducting a 'Listening Tour' at the Jungang Market in Andong, Gyeongbuk, on the same day, raised his voice regarding the prosecution summons, saying, "I want to ask if Lee Jae-myung is that scary," and "They have tried for over ten years to fabricate baseless accusations, but it seems they still haven't succeeded."
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