Kim Seung-won Controversy Suwon City Creates 'Defense Logic'

Suwon City, identified as a key point in the allegations of preferential treatment for Justice Minister-nominee Kim Seung-won's family, has been confirmed to have created internal documents based on "no preferential treatment."

According to Suwon City and others on the 8th, the city recently prepared an internal document titled "Press Conference Fact-Check" and shared it with Mayor Lee Jae-joon and related city officials.

This follows allegations of preferential treatment raised on the 6th by Representative Joo Jin-woo (People Power Party, Haeundae-gap, Busan) regarding the designation of the organization providing developmental disability activity services where Kim's spouse serves as facility director at the Korean Child Development Social Cooperative, as well as voucher support and family hiring.

The document is known to contain a comprehensive opinion stating "the organization was normally designated through open recruitment and external expert review, and there are no facts of preferential treatment provided by Suwon City" along with fact-check content by issue.

Regarding the designation process, it emphasized that the procedure was conducted normally, not as preferential treatment. According to the content, the cooperative relocated to Suwon in January 2022, participated in open recruitment in February of that year, and was designated as a service provider in March after review by a committee of external experts.

Regarding family hiring, it stated "when staffing and personnel standards are met and hiring occurs, there are no separate restrictions on family hiring." It appears the city also determined that salary payment to family members is a matter of the organization's personnel and operations.

Regarding the scale of voucher support, it is confirmed that Suwon City refuted claims from Representative Joo's office based on factual grounds.

Representative Joo's office claimed the cooperative received 878.77 million won from 2022 to 2025, but Suwon City identified the actual voucher payment amount as 632.31 million won. This comprises 178.92 million won for weekly activity services and 453.39 million won for after-school activity services. The document is known to contain content stating that the support amounts by year also differ from those presented by Representative Joo's office.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health and Welfare launched an investigation into the operational status of the cooperative on the same day. The ministry is reviewing relevant data including annual revenue and the status of persons with disabilities, beneficiaries, and workers, and is understood to have requested Suwon City to submit documents.

As Suwon City has drawn a line stating "no facts of preferential treatment" and embarked on full preparation, with the central government's fact-checking also beginning, the controversy surrounding the cooperative's designation as a service provider and its operations is expected to continue.

A Suwon City official stated, "It is materials that organize facts after confirming related content following the raising of allegations," and "we understand it was created in the process of grasping accurate facts."

전시언 취재편집부문 대표 yourside@suwonilbo.kr