Gov. Lee Jae-myung Refutes Channel A Report: "Will Rectify Abuse of Power and Distorted Coverage"

[Suwon Ilbo=Correspondent Seo Dong-young] Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung emphasized thorough investigation and accountability regarding the abuse of power incident involving a parking lot in Hanam City. He also refuted Channel A's coverage of the incident, stating that the facts had been distorted.

On the 7th, Channel A reported that Hanam City sent an official document requesting a parking space for approximately 200 vehicles at a nearby officetel to accommodate Governor Lee Jae-myung's attendance at the opening ceremony of Subway Line 5's Misa Station, but changed to a different parking lot due to residents' opposition. The report also included an interview with a resident stating, "High-ranking officials including Lee Jae-myung told us to clean up messy items in the hallway."

In response, Governor Lee Jae-myung posted an article titled <"I will definitely fix the abuse of power through special treatment and distorted reporting that undermines popular sovereignty"> on his Facebook on the 8th.

The governor stated, "Many of you must have been surprised by yesterday's Channel A report. It must have been absurd to see it portrayed as if Governor Lee Jae-myung was abusing power through protocol, even though we are not in an authoritarian era," and added, "I will thoroughly investigate the facts regarding the abuse of power and hold those responsible accountable." He went on to strongly criticize the issue, saying, "While the matter appears to be an abuse of power under the guise of protocol, its essence is a challenge to and affront to popular sovereignty, where civil servants are to serve the people, not impose inconvenience on the owners of the nation."

However, he added, "The Hanam City officials' statement about the governor's attendance is incomprehensible by common sense," and "There is a significant possibility that it was manipulated and distorted for political purposes."

Regarding Channel A's coverage, he criticized, "The station conducted false reporting without verification, taking only the residents' one-sided claims at face value, as if the Gyeonggi Province governor and Hanam City unilaterally and forcibly demanded a 'protocol-designated' parking space." He then provided detailed explanations stating "this is not true" regarding the process of complaint filing and measures taken, the purpose of parking space use by the governor, and whether residents were inconvenienced.

Governor Lee Jae-myung pointed out, "Channel A's reporting behavior, which damaged the credibility of Gyeonggi Province governance by reporting with a sensational headline without proper fact-checking or even contacting Gyeonggi Province as the subject of the report, is an act that clouds the judgment of the sovereign people, and I cannot help but suspect its political intent." He stated, "I question the reason for malicious and biased distorted reporting. I will demand a right of reply and hold them accountable through complaints to the Media Arbitration Committee and the Korea Communications Commission."