A group of lawmakers and party committee chairs from the People Power Party, representing Seongnam, held a press conference on the 11th to express their strong disapproval of the prosecution’s decision to abandon the appeal in the Daejang-dong case. They accused the Lee Jae-myung administration of being “accomplices in the Daejang-dong scandal” for allegedly allowing criminal profits to be funneled into the pockets of those involved. The lawmakers claimed that the Daejang-dong criminals would now benefit from 700 billion Korean won.
The press conference was attended by Ahn Cheol-soo, Kim Eun-hye (People Power Party lawmakers representing Seongnam Bundang), Jang Young-ha (party committee chair for Seongnam Sujeong-gu), and Yoon Yong-geun (party committee chair for Seongnam Jungwon-gu). They held the event at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. The lawmakers stated that by abandoning the appeal in the Daejang-dong case, the prosecution’s role as a fair arbiter against power had been compromised. They vowed to pursue the impeachment of Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho, initiate a national investigation into the case, and appoint a special counsel.
Ahn Cheol-soo emphasized that behind the name Daejang-dong lies the suffering of countless residents and the loss of national assets that could not be recovered. He pointed out that the prosecution had missed the last opportunity to reclaim these assets. He reiterated that the lamp of justice in South Korea has been extinguished by the prosecution’s decision to abandon the appeal.
Kim Eun-hye described the Daejang-dong case as not a “public-private partnership” but a “public-private collusion.” She called it a corruption crime where “Seongnam’s leadership nullified laws and procedures using governmental power, funneling hundreds of billions of won in profits into private pockets.” She added that while the conspirators celebrated a jackpot over 1,000 times their investment, the original residents were forcibly evicted at half the land price, losing their livelihoods and becoming wanderers. She accused the Lee Jae-myung government of allowing the 700 billion Korean won, which was soaked in the tears of Daejang-dong residents and Seongnam citizens, to be handed over to the criminals instead of being returned to the state.
Yoon Yong-geun criticized the Democratic Party of Korea’s Seongnam office for falsely inciting residents that civil lawsuits could recover the funds. He explained that substantive truth can only be proven in criminal trials, and civil rulings depend on criminal verdicts. Thus, recovering the 700 billion Korean won, which should belong to residents and the national treasury, has now become fundamentally impossible. He concluded that this is not an “abandonment of appeal” but an “abandonment of the people.”
Jang Young-ha condemned Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho and acting minister No Man-ho for forcing hardworking prosecutors into a disgraceful chapter of history. He asked, “Now that the Ministry of Justice in Yongsan has sided with criminals, do you feel at ease, President Lee Jae-myung? Can you finally sleep soundly?” He urged, “If President Lee Jae-myung was uninvolved in the Daejang-dong case, he should resume his separate trial from the private businessmen. If he is innocent, he has no reason to avoid it.”