Assemblyman Kang Dae-sik Accused of Violating Political Funds Law
Kang: "Never Received Money... Will Cooperate with Investigation"
Assemblyman Jang Dong-hyuk Denies Solicitation Allegations: "Already Clarified"
Na Kyung-won vs Ryu Sam-young in 'Sexual Disparagement' Promotion Scandal
Following Jo Su-jin's Resignation... Jo Su-yeon and Park Min-sik Mentioned
As candidate registrations for 254 constituencies ahead of the 22nd general election were completed on the 22nd, accusations and counter-accusations among incumbent lawmakers and candidates from both ruling and opposition parties are rampant.
According to political circles on the 22nd, the Committee for Measures for the Working Class and Livelihood (Seominwi) announced that it filed complaints with the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency the previous day against People Power Party lawmakers Kang Dae-sik and Jang Dong-hyuk, as well as Democratic Party candidate Ryu Sam-young from Seoul Dongjak-eul.
According to the complaint, Kang was accused of violating the Political Funds Act and bribery charges, with allegations that he received political funds from a local construction company through his aide, Mr. Moon.
In response, Kang told this outlet in a phone interview, “I didn’t even know if such a construction company existed in Daegu. I have never received any money,” adding, “I am willing to cooperate with any investigation at any time, and I will take legal action to clearly prove my innocence and restore my honor.”
Lawmaker Jang was accused of violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act and bribery after the fact. He is suspected of granting bail to a demolition contractor who was on trial for bid-rigging, after receiving a request from a former judge turned lawyer. Jang was the presiding judge at the time.
Jang told this outlet, “This matter has already been fully investigated as a witness and a reference, and it has been concluded,” adding, “It is only being politically brought up again now, but there is nothing problematic about it.”
Ryu Sam-young, the Democratic Party candidate running against People Power Party co-election campaign committee chair Na Kyung-won in Seoul Dongjak-eul, was recently accused of violating the Public Official Election Act and the Information and Communications Network Act for posting promotional materials that contained sexually derogatory implications, including the phrase “The pot tastes best when stepped on.”
Ryu’s camp has denied producing the said post.
In response, Na appeared on KBS Radio’s “Jeon Jong-cheol’s Jeonggyeok Sisa” on the morning of the 22nd and said, “Since (Ryu) said it wasn’t made by him, we just accepted that it might have been posted by a supporter and moved on, but in fact, it was Ryu’s own face that was misused, so more responsible measures should be taken,” adding, “The Democratic Party needs to reconsider its chronic problem of casually using sexually derogatory content during elections.”
The Democratic Party’s counterattack is also fierce. On the same day, after lawyer Cho Su-jin withdrew her candidacy for Seoul Gangbuk-eul amid controversy over her defense of a child sex crime case, the Democratic Party urged the People Power Party to cancel the nominations of candidates involved in secondary victimization related to sex crimes.
Spokesperson Noh Jong-myeon said in a written briefing, “According to reports, People Power Party candidate Park Min-sik from Gangseo-eul resumed his legal practice as a lawyer after moving to a standing committee, which was not a concurrent position ban, during his 18th National Assembly term, and took on a case involving prostitution mediation.”
Noh also claimed, “Candidate Cho Su-yeon from Daejeon Seo-gu Gap defended perpetrators of a group sexual assault case involving intellectually disabled middle school girls, known as the ‘Daejeon Dogani’ case, and the law firm operated by Ulsan Namgu Gap candidate Kim Sang-wook represented many perpetrators in socially controversial cases such as lease fraud and sexual assault of minors,” adding, “Chairman Han should not tolerate candidates Park Min-sik, Cho Su-yeon, and Kim Sang-wook,” and urged, “Cancel the nominations of People Power Party candidates who defended perpetrators and caused secondary harm to victims.”
Regarding these claims, candidate Park Min-sik stated in a press release on the same day, “I have never taken on a prostitution mediation case during my time as a lawmaker,” and announced that he will sue Democratic Party spokesperson Noh for spreading false information.
Park said, “This was all clarified during the Ministry of Patriots and Veterans Affairs ministerial hearing,” adding, “The hearing was passed with bipartisan agreement. If this were true, the opposition party would not have ignored it and agreed. I absolutely cannot tolerate attempts to deflect attention from lawyer Cho Su-jin’s withdrawal in this way.”
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