A resident of Nonsan City, Chungnam, is holding a picket protest demanding the expulsion of Lee Sanggu, a member of the Nonsan City Council affiliated with the People Power Party. / Informant
A citizen in Nonsan, South Chungcheong Province, has sparked controversy by holding a picket protest calling for the expulsion of city council member Lee Sanggu, who is affiliated with the People Power Party.
This citizen staged the picket protest at the entrance of the Nonsan City Council on the 22nd, when the 258th temporary session was being held, stating, "He is committing all sorts of wrongdoings with lies like a fraud," and demanded Lee's expulsion.
The citizen claimed, "After establishing Autofarm Agrotech, Lee contracted to complete four lettuce greenhouses and a workshop between December 1 last year and January 31 this year for 270 million won."
The citizen continued, "When the construction was delayed and I urged him to speed up, he demanded an advance payment under the pretext of purchasing materials. After I paid, he kept asking for more money at short intervals. When I refused, he stopped the construction, saying he would only resume if I paid the remaining balance and an additional 10 million won."
The citizen also said, "On April 23, I asked Chairman Seowon to mediate, promising to pay the remaining balance if Lee guaranteed the project's completion. However, Lee refused, and the construction was halted."
The citizen pointed out, "The fact that Lee, who is an executive director, and his son, who is the CEO, refused to guarantee completion seems to indicate that they deliberately took on the project to extort money."
He added, "The city council should promptly request an investigation to prevent further victims. If a city council member, who is supposed to work for the citizens, is extorting citizens and turns a blind eye, who can the citizens trust?"
Lee Sanggu stated, "In my 30 years in politics, I have never inconvenienced citizens. I signed a construction contract with my son for 380 million won, but the claim that it was 270 million won is nonsense. My son completed 70% of the work, suffered a loss of 50 million won, and could not continue. By mutual agreement, we entrusted the remaining work to another company and completed the project."
He added, "Regarding the dissemination of false information by this resident, I plan to take legal action after seeking legal advice."
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