Ahead of Prosecutor Appearance, Lee Jae-myung Faces Ruling Party's Call to Pay "Daejang-dong Windfall Tax"

Joo Ho-young "If innocent, what is there to protect?"
Seong Il-jong "Clarify the truth about his windfall"

[Asia Economy Reporters Hyunju Lee and Youngwon Kim] On the 27th, the People Power Party launched an offensive against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is scheduled to appear before the prosecution the next day over allegations of preferential treatment in the Daejang-dong development project, urging him to "undergo the investigation fairly and squarely."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized at the party's floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly, saying, "(Lee) went to Jeonbuk yesterday and pleaded for protection, but if he is innocent as he claims, I don't know what needs to be protected," adding, "The best way is to quietly cooperate with the investigation."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 25th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

Floor leader Joo pressed Lee by saying, "You cannot cover the sky with your palm," urging him to face the prosecution's investigation fairly and squarely. He said, "As the prosecution's investigation became more concrete, he ran for the Incheon by-election, became a member of the National Assembly, then party leader, putting on multiple layers of bulletproof vests. The public recognizes this first. Everyone knows that he is doing this because he is afraid and scared of something, so he is putting on multiple layers of safety measures," adding, "The opposition suppression frame no longer works. No matter how much the Democratic Party insists, these issues were all raised during the party's presidential candidate primary, and none of them were newly recognized or raised as problems since this administration came into power."

Seong Il-jong, chairman of the Policy Committee, also argued for imposing a windfall tax on those who designed and approved the Daejang-dong development, saying, "The windfall is the profit from Daejang-dong."

Chairman Seong pointed out, "The national tax system must have consistency and fairness. If the tax system operates like a rubber band, it is difficult to gain the trust of the people," adding, "This is a typical Democratic Party logic that ignores the basic principles of tax policy?predictability, consistency, and stability?and divides corporations and citizens."

He continued, "If the energy sector is booming, should oil companies pay a windfall tax? If semiconductors are booming, should semiconductor companies pay a windfall tax?" and said, "Because of the reckless demand for a 30 trillion won supplementary budget without any preparation for resources, just to cover his own judicial risks, such illogical windfall tax ideas are emerging."

He then said, "The public thinks that Lee, during his time as mayor of Seongnam, colluded with the Daejang-dong gang to reap nearly 1 trillion won in profits from the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong developments," and sharply urged, "First, clarify the truth about your own windfall."