“There was no business plan at the time”… Criticism of the ‘Seongnam Line’ emphasizes legal and pro-Roh experience
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Jeong-jin = On the 7th, the Democratic Party of Korea strongly refuted the People Power Party's suspicions and attacks on Defense Acquisition Program Administration Director Lee Yong-cheol, who was nominated as a candidate for the new Minister of Justice, saying, "Raising suspicions is not an excuse."
Spokesperson Lee Yong-woo issued a comment on this day, criticizing the People Power Party's claim that candidate Lee gave high marks in the interview for the appointment of Director of Planning at the Seongnam City Facilities Management Corporation to Dong-gyu Yoo, a key figure in the Daejang-dong corruption suspicions as a member of the executive recommendation committee in 2010.
Spokesperson Lee said, “The interview sheet presented by the People Power Party was prepared when selecting the head of the planning headquarters of the Seongnam City Facilities Management Corporation in 2010,” and asked, “How can the fact that I participated in the recruitment interview for Mr. Dong-gyu Yoo serve as evidence that I was involved in the selection of a private business operator for Daejang-dong five years later?”
He then pointed out, “(The People Power Party) is concluding that Daejang-dong is involved based on the interview table,” and “This is the reason why they are calling themselves a ‘shepherd boy.’”
At the same time, he warned, “Raising suspicions is not an indulgence,” and “Keep in mind that the People Power Party may be subject to severe legal liability if it defames a candidate with false information.”
Regarding this candidate, he claimed that he is a suitable person to be the new Minister of Justice, citing his experience as the legal secretary of the participatory government and the first deputy director and director of the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.
Spokesperson Lee said, "In establishing the separation of investigation and prosecution in the field, candidate Lee's rich experience and philosophy, such as system reform, operation of new institutions, long legal experience, and will to reform the prosecution, rather than 'outdated camp discourse', will serve as strengths."
Spokesperson Shin Hyun-young also said in a Facebook post on the same day about candidate Lee's 'suspicion of involvement in the Daejang-dong incident', saying, "During the process of selecting executives for the Seongnam Facilities Management Corporation and evaluating Yoo Dong-gyu in which candidate Lee participated, the selection of executives at the time was not done by the Seongnam Urban Development Corporation, but by the Seongnam Facilities Management Corporation," and claimed, "At the time, there was no plan for the Daejang-dong project."
He also said, “It is known that all five members of the executive recommendation committee gave Dong-gyu Yoo the top score.”
Regarding this candidate, he said, "He is a member of the Lawyers for a Democratic Society (Minbyun) and is a legal professional with more than 30 years of experience who has worked to protect human rights and promote democratic values."
At the same time, he countered the conservative opposition's so-called 'Seongnam Line personnel' offensive, saying, "He served as the second secretary for civil affairs and the legal secretary of the Blue House in the participatory government, and is a competent person who handled a wide range of areas of the Ministry of Justice, including anti-corruption system reform and prosecution policy, as well as justice, corrections, immigration, human rights, and crime prevention."
