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| Sohn Hye-won announces she will quit the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), during a joint press conference with DPK floor leader Hong Young-pyo at the National Assembly, Sunday. / Yonhap |
Opposition urges thorough probe into property purchases
By Yi Whan-woo
Ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) lawmaker Sohn Hye-won said Sunday she will quit the party amid growing suspicions over her involvement in speculative property investments in Mokpo, South Jeolla Province.
But Sohn denied her involvement, saying she had decided to leave the party because she had become a political burden on the ruling camp. She said she would prove her innocence via a legal battle, and return to the party after she was cleared.
"I will quit as lawmaker, if any suspicions about me are found to be true in the prosecution's investigation," she told a news conference.
Her move came as the ruling camp is under growing political attacks from the opposition bloc because of Sohn, who was a key campaigner for Moon Jae-in in the 2017 presidential race.
Sohn, who is also a member of the National Assembly Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee, faces allegations that she used insider information gained from her post to have her relatives and aides buy at least 17 colonial-era buildings in Mokpo.
The lawmaker claimed she encouraged them to buy the properties from March 2017 to September 2018 as an act of goodwill to revive the city.
But suspicions remain that she intended to make illicit gains. The price of the purchased buildings soared after they were designated as part of a cultural heritage site in August 2018.
The DPK has continued to defend her, prompting the main opposition Liberty Korea Party (LPK) to raise speculation that Sohn, a friend of first lady Kim Jung-sook, has been exploiting their friendship to abuse her power.
"I lay down the party membership as of today," she said at the press conference, flanked by DPK floor leader Hong Young-pyo. "It was not an easy decision to quit the party. But I did not want to put a burden on the party leadership and thus have decided to settle the case on my own, because after all, this is a matter of my personal life."
She said she would return to the party after clearing herself of all allegations, but also pledged to quit as a lawmaker if any allegations against her were found to be true.
She said she was ready to cooperate with the prosecution, referring to calls from critics to begin an investigation of her immediately.
Meanwhile, she said she would file a suit next week at the earliest against SBS, a broadcaster that first reported the allegation against her, and other media outlets that covered the same "false" story.
Asked whether she would contest the general elections next year, Sohn, a first-term lawmaker, reaffirmed her commitment not to run.
She said she was still willing to help those wishing to run against Rep. Park Jie-won, a veteran lawmaker from minor opposition Party for Democracy and Peace who first advocated her but later backed the allegation against her.
Park, a four-term lawmaker from Mokpo, has paid close attention to the allegations against Sohn.
"I would join the election campaign for those who are interested in reviving Mokpo and also willing to eliminate the city's old lawmaker known for betrayal," Sohn said.
Commenting on Sohn's verbal attack, Park said it was "not even worthy of a response."
The LKP asked Sohn to step down as a lawmaker immediately and comply with the prosecution's investigation.
"We expected her to acknowledge her wrongdoing and make a sincere apology. But all she did was quit her party," LKP floor spokeswoman Kim Soon-rye said Sunday.
"The joint press conference with the DPK floor leader apparently shows the DPK is willing to back her regardless of the grave situation she faces."
