"Property increased by 800 million won in five years, disclose it if you have nothing to hide"
"Received 200 million won in cash, yet calls it a 'receipt error' sophistry"
"7 hundred million won received from Kang Shinsung, equivalent to the price of an Eunma Apartment at the time"
Joo Jinwoo, a member of the People Power Party, delivered a strong criticism against Kim Minseok, the nominee for Prime Minister. He argued that it is unreasonable for Kim to excuse the acceptance of illicit funds through various means as a mere receipt error.
On June 16, Joo Jinwoo wrote on his Facebook page, "After living a life mired in bribery scandals, is he really claiming it was just a simple receipt mistake?"
Joo stated, "Kim Minseok claimed, 'I received 200 million won in cash from a major conglomerate, but it was just a simple receipt mistake.' Such sophistry is infuriating, especially in this heat," and added, "In 2002, Kim personally received 200 million won in cash from SK in a shopping bag, and at that time, there were no 50,000 won bills. Each shopping bag could only hold a little over 30 million won back then."
He continued, "200 million won in cash is equivalent to nine years’ salary for a new college graduate earning 1.8 million won per month. More than six shopping bags would have been stuffed to the point of bursting, and the cash alone would weigh 23.2 kilograms. There was never a way to process such a large sum of cash with receipts. An SK executive even informed Kim in advance that it would be impossible to process the money as a legitimate donation. This is not a mistake, but rather a case of a young politician’s sordid bribery and collusion with a major conglomerate," he added.
He also pointed out suspicions of political collusion with Kang Shinsung, former head of the Democratic Party’s Gwangmyeong-eul district and current vice president of the Korean Sport & Olympic Committee. Joo criticized Kim over allegations that, from 2006 to 2008, he received approximately 700 million won in illegal funds from Kang and two others. At the time, 700 million won was equivalent to the market price of a 30-pyeong Eunma Apartment in Daechi-dong, Gangnam-gu, Seoul.
Joo said, "Kim used borrowed-name accounts and accepted both Hong Kong dollars and US dollars indiscriminately. For 18 years, he ran for office and lost repeatedly without a job, and when caught receiving illegal political funds, he had to return the money to the national treasury. Therefore, the fact that Kim only has 200 million won in assets and no house cannot be seen as a symbol of integrity. It is simply the natural outcome of sponsor-driven politics."
Finally, he stated, "I am asking how Kim’s assets increased by 800 million won over the past five years. I want him to disclose how much he earned from condolence money and lecture fees, and whether he reported it for tax purposes. If he has nothing to hide, it would take just five minutes. He could write a single line on Facebook. Is what I’m asking so difficult?"
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