"Lee Jae Myung's Closest Aides Received Funds, Lee Suspected as Accomplice"
"Proper Investigation Not Conducted... Truth Must Be Revealed"
The People Power Party announced on the 16th that it will file a criminal complaint against Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung on charges of being an accomplice in violating the Political Funds Act.
Choi Kisik and Joo Jinwoo, co-heads of the Negative Verification Team of the People Power Party's Central Election Countermeasures Committee, explained this in a statement released in the afternoon, saying, "The real problem is the Democratic Party's 'money politics.'"
Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae Myung is giving a speech appealing for support at a campaign rally held in front of the circular shopping center at Peace Plaza in Mokpo, Jeonnam on the 15th. Photo by Yonhap News
They stated, "In the most recent presidential election, Lee Jae Myung's closest aide, Kim Yong, was sentenced to five years in prison and taken into custody in the appeals court for allegedly receiving 600 million won in cash for campaign funds from Nam Wook, a Daejang-dong associate." They continued, "Lee Hwa Young, who served as deputy governor assisting Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae Myung, is currently on trial in the first instance for allegedly splitting 90 million won in donations under the names of Ssangbangwool executives and employees, funneled through Chairman Kim Sung Tae of Ssangbangwool, into an 'account supporting Lee Jae Myung.'"
They pointed out, "Both cases are illegal political fund incidents, and in both, Lee Jae Myung is the actual beneficiary, with the recipients of the funds being his closest aides."
They further stated, "A Telegram group chat created to secretly support defendant Kim Yong was even revealed by the media. If Kim Yong had collected campaign funds without Lee Jae Myung's knowledge, why did Lee not distance himself from Kim and instead help him? This is strong evidence to suspect Lee as an accomplice."
They added, "Money politics must not be rampant in Korea. Yet, a proper investigation into Lee Jae Myung, the actual beneficiary, as an accomplice is not being conducted." They continued, "The Kim Moon Soo campaign's negative team sees the need for a swift investigation to uncover the truth, and thus today we are submitting a complaint against Lee Jae Myung for violating the Political Funds Act."
The People Power Party plans to submit the complaint to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office later today.
Previously, on the 13th, the Democratic Party announced that it would file a complaint against candidate Kim for violating the Political Funds Act, alleging that he received illegal political funds through YouTube 'Super Chat.' In response, Choi Kisik and Joo Jinwoo stated, "The Democratic Party first filed a criminal complaint against candidate Kim over an issue that had already been cleared of charges," and called it "a case of blaming the victim."
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