Suwon Mayor Denies "Doha Misconduct Report as Groundless"

Suwon Mayor Kim Yong-seo held a press conference on the 7th to refute recent media reports claiming that during his visit to Doha, Qatar and other locations to support the Asian Games, he had sought alcohol and women. He countered that such reports do not align with the facts.

The city also announced plans to request a correction from the media outlet that reported the alleged misconduct, and further to seek mediation through the Press Arbitration Commission.

During the press conference held at 3 p.m. in the City Hall Situation Room, Mayor Kim stated, "From the 30th of last month through the 6th, the Suwon delegation cheered on athletes from Suwon City Hall, and as originally scheduled, visited Dubai for urban benchmarking site inspections."

At this meeting, a municipal official who attended as a member of the Suwon City delegation said, "The 'Expat A' mentioned in the article is a technician who came to Doha six months ago for stadium communications work," and added, "We naturally met in the adjacent seat at the stadium during the Korea versus Iran basketball game on the 4th and simply heard explanations about the surrounding area."

He explained, "When this technician asked 'Where is your next destination?' and I answered Dubai, he said 'I have visited Dubai several times' and provided detailed guidance about the current situation in Dubai. Out of courtesy, I listened throughout and took some notes."

Furthermore, Mayor Kim stated, "The accommodation we stayed in Dubai was equivalent in size to a mid-range motel in Korea," and added, "In Dubai, we immediately returned home after completing urban planning benchmarking—including the shape of local buildings, land use planning, and nighttime landscape design—as well as visiting traditional markets and taking a desert tour."

At the same time, the city announced its willingness to disclose detailed schedules and budgets for the Qatar Doha and Dubai visit from November 30th to December 6th of last month, as well as transcripts of conversations with travel agency guides, staff, and local guides.

Meanwhile, according to a report by No Cut News on the 4th, some members of the Suwon cheering delegation, including the Suwon mayor, who visited the Doha Basketball Indoor Hall where the men's basketball game was held, asked local expatriates about places with alcohol and women, causing a misconduct scandal.