Gyeonggi voters see past crude comments, dodgy loans to elect DP duo

Several candidates from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) in Gyeonggi were selected by voters despite pressure to step down over controversial remarks and illegal loans.

Kim Jun-hyuk of the Democratic Party (DP), left, poses after his winning was became certain, and DP's Yang Moon-seok claps after seeing the exit poll results on Wednesday. [YONHAP, GYEONGGI JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Several candidates from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) in Gyeonggi were selected by voters despite pressure to step down over controversial remarks and illegal loans.

According to the National Election Commission on Thursday, DP candidate Kim Jun-hyuk defeated conservative People Power Party (PPP) candidate Lee Soo-jung by winning 50.8 percent, or 69,8881 votes, against Lee’s 49.1 percent, or 67,504 votes, for Gyeonggi’s Suwon-D constituency.

Kim secured victory by a 1.7-percentage-point margin.

Kim came under fire for his past statements, such as claiming that the late Kim Hwal-lan (1899-1970), former dean of Ewha Women's University, had forced students to provide sexual favors to U.S. military officers in the 1940s and that renowned scholar Yi Hwang (1501-1570) “was superb at sexual activities.”

Despite the controversy, Kim clinched a victory over Lee, securing a seat in the 22nd National Assembly.

“During the election, I received an unimaginable amount of criticism,” Kim said in his victory statement for the April 10 general election.

“However, looking back, it was all my fault for not being careful, and [I see] it as a ‘rite of passage’ to become a politician. This election has made me realize once again that I need to reflect more on myself and be more careful about my words and actions.”

Kim also apologized to the people whom his words hurt.

DP candidate Yang Moon-seok secured victory by an 11.3 percentage points over his conservative rival, PPP candidate Jang Sung-min, for Ansan-A, though he was embroiled in a loan controversy.

Yang received 55.6 percent, or 57,050 votes, while Jang received 44.3 percent, or 45,517 votes.

Yang was recently accused of taking out a 1.1-billion-won business mortgage loan in 2020 under the name of his daughter, a university student at the time, and using it for a housing transaction to buy an apartment in posh Seocho District, southern Seoul.

A complaint against Yang has been submitted to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office.

He and his daughter are also currently under investigation after an on-site audit of the Daegu branch of the Korean Federation of Community Credit Cooperatives turned up circumstantial evidence that they illegally used the loan.

Yang, additionally, was reported for publicizing false information.

He was later discovered to have reported his property at the lower posted price, 964 million less than the actual price he paid while purchasing the house.

Yang claimed he had committed an “expediency” but not “fraud.”

He also added that he would donate all the profit he earned after selling the apartment.

However, these accusations did not hinder him from securing a seat in the National Assembly.

“As a politician, I should have been alert to even small expediencies and mistakes,” he said in his acceptance speech. “I would still like to apologize to the people and the residents of Sangnok District, Ansan, for not thoroughly examining and taking precautions.”

BY HAN JI-HYE, KIM JI-YE [kim.jiye@joongang.co.kr]