▲ Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung at the time of May 21, 2015, is taking a picture with the attendees at a security experience event hosted by the Seongnam City Veterans Association held at Panmunjom. The red circle on the right is Mr. A, who died following being investigated by a witness in connection with the allegation of misappropriation of Kim Hye-kyung’s corporate card. ⓒYoutube Channel Garosero Research Center
It was confirmed that Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, participated in a security experience event held in Panmunjom with Mr. A, who was found dead following receiving a reference investigation regarding his spouse Kim Hye-kyung’s ‘suspicious use of corporate cards’ during the Seongnam mayor’s tenure.
According to Seongnam City on the 1st, Rep. Lee attended a security experience event hosted by the Seongnam City Veterans Association on May 21, 2015 at Panmunjom, etc. The event was attended by 153 people, including Rep. Lee, who was then the mayor of Seongnam, 114 middle school students and parents in the Seongnam area, members of the Seongnam City Unified Defense Council, and veterans.
At the time, Mr. A, who was working as an officer in the Seongnam region of the Armed Forces Security Command, accompanied the event as a member of the Seongnam City Unified Defense Council. The council is a gathering of civil, public, military, and police forces to support integrated defense operations and training in wartime and normal times.
In addition to Mr. A, it was reported that 7 people from the council, including the education office, fire department, agricultural cooperatives, and women’s groups, attended the Panmunjeom event.
If you look at the photos at the time of the event released by the YouTube channel Garosero Research Institute, lawmaker Lee is posing with his back to the blue building in Panmunjom, standing next to the council members including Mr. A.
An official from Seongnam City said in a phone call with New Daily on the 1st, “In Seongnam City data, it is stated that someone from the security office attended.
According to this official, there is no data directly specifying the names of the council members who participated in the Panmunjeom event. Only the name of the institution and the chapter of the institution are written, but it was found that Mr. A went to the event instead of the commander of the security forces.
▲ The 4th quarter meeting of the Seongnam City Unified Defense Council presided over by then Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung on December 18, 2014. The red circle in the upper center is the mayor of Seongnam at the time of Lee Jae-myung, and the red circle below is Mr. A. ⓒSeongnam City Council website
Mr. A even attended a meeting of the council on behalf of his superior, the commander of the armed forces. On December 18, 2014, Mr. A participated in the 4th quarter meeting of the Unified Defense Council presided over by then Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung as a security forces officer.
In addition, Mr. A attended the second quarter meeting of the Unified Defense Council on June 24, 2016, the first quarter meeting held on February 24 of the same year, and the first quarter meeting on March 26, 2015. These meetings were presided over by Shim Ki-bo, the then Deputy Mayor of Seongnam City.
Person A is known to be an acquaintance of So-hyeon Bae, who was a special grade 5 officer in the General Affairs Division of the Gyeonggi Provincial Office. Bae is a key figure in the suspicion of misappropriation of corporate cards related to Kim Hye-kyung.
It is reported that Bae used the ‘change payment’ method of paying for Kim’s personal food with A’s personal credit card, canceling it, and paying once more with the Gyeonggi Provincial Government’s corporate card. It was also revealed that the house where A was found dead while living until recently was jointly owned by Bae and another person since 2014.
After his discharge from the military, Mr. A worked as a non-executive director of the Gyeonggi Provincial Economic Science Promotion Agency, a public institution under Gyeonggi Province. At that time, the invitation announcement stated that the governor of Gyeonggi-do would appoint a person recommended by the Executive Recommendation Committee for non-executive directors. Lawyer Lee Tae-hyung, who is known to be a close aide to lawmaker Lee, and former Gyeonggi Research Institute director Lee Han-joo also served as non-executive directors.
Meanwhile, in relation to Mr. A’s extreme choice on the 30th of last month, Rep. Lee said, “A person who has nothing to do with (me) died without being able to withstand the coercive investigation by the prosecution and the police. What does that have to do with Jae Myung Lee?” It’s ridiculous. I don’t have telekinesis, I don’t know how to cast spells, I can’t even use a long wind. I need to make this ridiculous world into a common-sense one.”