Why Does the Democratic Party Mention Hong Jun-pyo's 'Gyeongnam FC' Sponsorship Fund?

"Prosecutors Accuse Local Government Heads of Criminal Acts"
Claiming 'Seongnam FC Lawful Administration' Citing Hong Jun-pyo Case

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Amid the approval of the arrest consent bill for Representative Lee Jae-myung, who has had an arrest warrant requested over allegations of sponsorship funds related to Seongnam FC, the Democratic Party of Korea has brought up Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo's fundraising for Gyeongnam FC. This is interpreted as an attempt to highlight public opinion that the prosecution's investigation of Representative Lee ahead of the vote on the arrest consent bill scheduled for the 27th is unreasonable.

The Democratic Party argues that if Representative Lee's administration related to Seongnam FC is illegal, then Mayor Hong's fundraising for Gyeongnam FC should also be investigated. The Seongnam FC allegations involve Representative Lee, who was the mayor of Seongnam from 2015 to 2018, acquiring and operating the citizen football club Seongnam FC, during which he allegedly received solicitations and made companies pay sponsorship funds totaling 13.3 billion won. Similarly, Mayor Hong, during his tenure as governor of Gyeongnam, attracted sponsorship funds from companies to overcome the financial difficulties of the citizen football club Gyeongnam FC.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader, said at the highest council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 22nd, "Are you saying that all processes of local administration in the Republic of Korea must be carried out only after prior approval from the prosecution? Such an unreasonable demand should be stopped," and sarcastically added, "Is the advertising fee for the Seongnam citizen football club also the same? Is Lee Jae-myung's Seongnam FC bribery, but Hong Joon-pyo's Gyeongnam FC just fundraising?"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 22nd. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The previous day, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seong-joo also argued, "If Lee Jae-myung was indicted, then Mayor Hong should also be investigated and indicted on the same charges." Kim said, "There is no choice but to suspect that Mayor Hong resolved corporate complaints in exchange for support for Gyeongnam FC," adding, "Yoon Han-hong, a People Power Party lawmaker who was then the deputy governor of Gyeongnam, also admitted the demand and coercion for sponsorship, saying that Mayor Hong obtained about 2 billion won in sponsorship by almost threatening companies with anti-communist intimidation."

Earlier, Representative Lee Jae-myung also mentioned Mayor Hong in a six-page statement submitted to the police. He cited Mayor Hong's Gyeongnam FC case as evidence that soliciting sponsorship funds from companies for citizen football clubs was lawful administration by local government heads.

In the statement released on the 17th of last month, Representative Lee said, "Local government heads try to attract donations or sponsorships from companies, organizations, institutions, and philanthropists within their jurisdiction," adding, "Hong Joon-pyo, governor of Gyeongnam who owns Gyeongnam FC, requested sponsorship (free of charge) from local companies and received tens of millions of won from numerous companies, promoting it. The mayor of Incheon, who owns Incheon FC, also attracted advertisements from local companies and promoted them, and such cases are countless."

Mayor Hong Joon-pyo reacted angrily. On the same day, on social media, Mayor Hong said, "Whether fundraising is simple fundraising or bribery depends on whether criminal methods were used," adding, "If they could have investigated me and put me in jail, I would have already been in jail during the year-long background investigation by the Moon Jae-in administration."

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu. [Photo by Yonhap News]

He then drew a line between the Gyeongnam FC fundraising and Representative Lee's Seongnam FC allegations.

Mayor Hong explained, "While I did ask for financial support by mobilizing personal and academic networks due to Gyeongnam FC's poor finances, I never gave anything to companies in exchange for sponsorship. I knew that doing so would constitute third-party bribery," adding, "Stop dragging me into Representative Lee Jae-myung's case and focus only on the legal battle," expressing displeasure.

As Mayor Hong hinted at the possibility of legal action, Lawmaker Kim countered again. In a statement released that day, Kim said, "Why is it fundraising for Hong Joon-pyo but bribery for Mayor Lee Jae-myung? He must answer that," adding, "The core issue is asking whether it is appropriate to punish the opposition party leader with bribery charges for similar matters and demanding that the prosecution apply the same standards and criteria. Do not confuse the issue."