Hong Jun-pyo Targets No So-young, Saying "It Looks Like a Lawsuit to Reclaim the Property of Yi Wan-yong's Descendants"

Hong Jun-pyo "It's a trial to punish infidelity, but I don't think that's the case"

Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

Hong Jun-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, sharply criticized Noh So-young, director of the Art Center Nabi, who is demanding a division of assets by claiming that "former President Roh Tae-woo's slush fund of 30 billion won became the foundation for SK Group's growth," saying, "It is like a lawsuit to reclaim the property of Lee Wan-yong's descendants."

On the 30th, Mayor Hong stated on his Facebook, "Is it just for the money, which was illegally funneled into a company by a politician and grew to over 1 trillion won after more than 30 years, to not be reclaimed by the state but instead belong to the descendants? Does that align with justice?" He added, "No matter how much a trial punishing infidelity is, this doesn't seem right."

Although Mayor Hong did not specify the exact case, it appears to be aimed at the recent divorce lawsuit between SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Director Noh, where Noh secured a division of assets amounting to 1.4 trillion won based on her father, former President Roh Tae-woo's slush fund of 30 billion won.

Previously, the appellate court recognized that the 30 billion won slush fund of former President Roh, Noh's father, was funneled into SK Group and became the foundation for its growth. According to the appellate court ruling, Kim Ok-sook, wife of former President Roh, left a memo about the slush fund. The memo stated "Seon-gyeong (the predecessor of SK) 30 billion won." Noh's side submitted this memo, gaining an advantageous position in the division of assets, but it has been pointed out that they "faced a backlash."

This is because political circles and civic groups have argued that the slush fund of former President Roh's family is criminal proceeds and should be reclaimed. Mayor Hong's remark, "It is like seeing a lawsuit to reclaim the property of Lee Wan-yong's descendants," is interpreted in the same context.

Meanwhile, Mayor Hong, who was a prosecutor in the past, investigated the slot machine case in 1993 and arrested former Minister Park Cheol-eon, known as the "Crown Prince of the 6th Republic." Former Minister Park is a distant cousin of Kim Ok-sook. He became famous as the "Hourglass Prosecutor" when the investigation into the 6th Republic's power was dramatized in the TV series Hourglass, and later entered politics. Mayor Hong is regarded as the politician who has encountered the most corruption cases of the 6th Republic to this day.