Rep. Yeom Tae-young of the Democratic Party of Korea said on the 13th that he would take legal action against Rep. Joo Jin-woo of the People Power Party, who had raised questions about ties between Yeom and a corporation run by the family of Kim Seung-won, the nominee for justice minister.
"If you want to criticize someone, the first step is to grasp at least the basic facts and the reality of developmental disability care in the field," Yeom said on the 13th. "Stop this textbook case of reckless mudslinging and apologize at once." Joo had earlier pointed to Yeom, a former mayor of Suwon, as the figure behind the selection of a corporation run by Kim's family as a designated provider of after-school activity services in the city.
Yeom stressed that he was no longer serving as mayor when the corporation run by Kim's family was selected as a city-designated provider. "I was mayor in January 2022, when the organization relocated, but I resigned on Feb. 14," he said. "There was no Democratic Party mayor in office in late February and March, when the procedures for designating the organization were carried out." He added: "Talk of a 'Suwon City Hall controlled by a Democratic Party mayor' is a clear falsehood. I hope he is prepared to be held responsible for spreading false information and defaming me."
Yeom also criticized his rival for disparaging budget programs as schemes to funnel benefits to particular people. "That is what happens when someone who knows nothing about administration throws out accusations at random — you only see what you are looking for," he said. "I hope he immediately stops this shallow political maneuvering, which ignores the hardships of developmental disability care and tries to force a contrived narrative onto it."
