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Lee Nak-yon, a Democratic Party candidate for president, speaks at a press conference held at the Seoul Metropolitan Council’s offices on Tuesday. (pool photo)

On Tuesday, Lee Nak-yon, a presidential candidate for the Democratic Party, drew attention to the fact that a close aide of Lee Jae-myung, the party’s leading candidate, has been taken into custody. Lee Nak-yon added that it’s unclear what the investigation into the Daejang neighborhood scandal might turn up and that the party can’t win the presidential election under the current uncertainty.

“One person has already been arrested in this stage of the investigation, and who knows what will happen next,” Lee said. “For that reason, party members and electors need time to come to a decision.”

A scandal involving the Daejang neighborhood in the city of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, has already led to the arrest of Yu Dong-gyu, former chief of planning for the Seongnam Development Corporation. Given the possibility of Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung being implicated in the scandal, Lee Nak-yon is asking the Democratic Party to select him as a “safe nominee” for South Korea’s upcoming presidential election.

“A crisis for the front-runner is a crisis for the Democratic Party and a crisis for our ability to stay in power,” Lee Nak-yon said. His remarks targeted Lee Jae-myung, who has only admitted his “responsibility for management” during his tenure as Seongnam mayor in the case of the detained public servant.

Lee Nak-yon called out Lee Jae-myung directly during a press conference at the Seoul Metropolitan Council, asking, “Is this a candidate capable of effectively leading the country?”

Lee Nak-yon also called on the Democratic Party to swing into action. Speaking to reporters after the news conference, he said, “The relationship between the chief of planning of the Seongnam Development Corporation and the Seongnam mayor is hardly comparable to that of the president and a KEPCO employee.”

That was a rejoinder to Lee Jae-myung’s quip that the president wouldn’t step down if an employee of the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) was caught taking a bribe.

While Lee Nak-yon had previously questioned Lee Jae-myung’s stability as a candidate, he’d refrained from raising allegations about his rival’s involvement in the Daejang neighborhood scandal. His turn toward tougher rhetoric seems to come on account of his judgment that the scandal will impact moderates and Seoul area residents when they go to the polls.

Lee Nak-yon failed to win either of the Democratic Party’s primary “super weeks” so far, and his candidacy depends on finding a viable path to victory in the upcoming primaries in Gyeonggi (Saturday) and Seoul (Sunday) and in a poll of the public and ordinary party members in the Democratic Party’s third “super week.”

That said, Lee’s campaign staff seem concerned about the possibility that he’ll face a backlash over undermining team spirit in the Democratic Party, especially since the investigation into the scandal is still underway.

“The fact is that we’ve had to tread softly because of Lee Jae-myung’s negative framing. Rather than jumping to conclusions about an ongoing investigation, we’re focusing on the need for Lee Jae-myung, as a public figure, to provide a clear explanation of the allegations,” said a lawmaker who is part of Lee Nak-yon’s campaign.

By Shim Wu-sam, staff reporter

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