Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon answers questions about Myeong Tae-gyun and Kang Hye-kyung after concluding a press briefing on the Small Business Support Project held at the Seoul City Hall briefing room in the morning of the 26th, according to Yonhap News.
“Mayor Oh Se-hoon should fully disclose the truth about the Myeong Tae-gyun connection,” said Park Jumin and the Democratic Party’s Special Committee for New Seoul Preparation during a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Hall in Yeouido on the 29th.
They stated, “There were 25 public opinion polls related to Mr. Myeong Tae-gyun and among them, 13 featured unpublished questions about candidate Oh Se-hoon. Furthermore, it was revealed that Mr. Oh’s sponsor, Mr. Kim, deposited 33 million won into Ms. Kang’s account, intensifying suspicions.”
The representatives added, “Mayor Oh referred to his supporter, Kim Han-jeong, as someone ‘acting on his conviction’ yet Mr. Kim stated that he met Myeong Tae-gyun at Mayor Oh’s request. The lie was exposed within a day. Out of the seven board members of the corporation led by sponsor Kim, the majority are either from Mayor Oh’s camp or the People Power Party Research Institute. It is confirmed that five of these have been employed as executives in city-funded or affiliated institutions.”
Investigative media outlet NewsTapa reported on the 26th and 27th about close aides of Mayor Oh’s supporter Mr. Kim being hired in Seoul’s affiliated organizations and Mr. Kim meeting Myeong Tae-gyun according to Mayor Oh’s directions.
The special committee urged Mayor Oh to “file the written complaint as mentioned and actively respond to the related suspicions,” questioning whether he knew about the employment of many board members of Kim’s corporation in city-related organizations and whether the hiring process was appropriate.
Regarding the recent controversy, Mayor Oh expressed in a policy briefing on the 26th, “It is hard to accept the logic that Mr. Myeong and Ms. Kang assumed their surveys reached our camp. There are numerous people I would like to take legal action against for speculative slander, distortion, and exaggerated reports. I wish to prosecute their representatives, including Mr. Myeong’s lawyer and Ms. Kang, collectively.”