Lee Ki-in, a member of Gyeonggi-do Province, mentioned the ‘Seongnam City Skating Rink Mural Incident’ in 2017 as an ‘event that Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, thought he should not be in politics’. Representative Lee, then mayor of Seongnam, posted a photo of a poster on social media to the effect of criticizing a Saenuri Party member, and the police investigation revealed that someone from the secretary’s office put up the poster, said Rep. Lee.
In an interview with Shin Dong-ah, released on the 20th, Rep. Lee said, “There was a famous skating rink incident” when asked, “Is there an incident that made Lee think that he shouldn’t be in politics?”
He said, “A large skating rink was built at the end of the year in the parking lot inside Seongnam City Hall,” he said. A contact accident occurred and a complaint was filed.” He continued, “The ruling and opposition parties agreed and decided to build it elsewhere, so the skating rink budget was cut.”
Rep. Lee said, “By the way, there was a poster saying that Lee Gi-in cut the budget for the skating rink.”
A poster pasted at the skating rink in Seongnam City Hall in 2017. /yunhap news
When Lee Jae-myung was Seongnam Mayor, Seongnam City opened an ice skating rink every winter in the parking lot of the government building. Representative Lee paid a lot of attention to this place, attending the opening ceremony of the skating rink himself.
When the operating cost of the outdoor skating rink was cut during the 2017 Seongnam City Council budget review process, several prints were attached to the glass walls of the skating rink waiting room. The printout, titled ‘Guidelines for Outdoor Skating Rink Budget Cuts’, reads, “The Seongnam City Hall outdoor skating rink will no longer be available from next winter due to budget cuts due to opposition from members of the Saenuri Party of the Seongnam City Council.” Beneath it, someone handwritten the real names of Saenuri Party lawmakers. Rep. Lee Ki-in was included here.
Representative Lee posted a photo of the poster on Twitter and said, “This is the last time due to budget cuts due to opposition from Saenuri Party city council members. It was a specialty of Seongnam City, but it’s really unfortunate. It can only be revived through the power of citizens.” Since then, malicious comments and criticism towards the lawmakers have been pouring in.
A post posted by then Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myung on Twitter along with a photo of the skating rink mural. /Twitter
The Saenuri Party Council refuted, saying, “It was decided to organize it from the supplementary budget.” At the time, an official from Seongnam City’s Sports Promotion Division also told the press, “We agreed to open the skating rink at a place other than Seongnam City Hall, not closing it.” In the end, Saenuri Party lawmakers sued the poster poster for defamation by false information.
Since then, news has been heard that the police seized and searched the secretary’s office of Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myeong in connection with the poster case. The police checked CCTV around the outdoor skating rink during the night time on January 2, 2017, when the poster is believed to have been attached, but said they could not secure evidence of the person who attached the poster. As a result, while investigating visitors to City Hall at the same time on the same day, it was confirmed that two unspecified people entered and exited the secretary’s office.
Lee Ki-in, a member of the People’s Power, is a member of Gyeonggi-do. /yunhap news
Rep. Ki-in Lee said, “When I asked for 먹튀검증an investigation, someone wearing a hat came out of the secretary’s office of Mayor Jae-myung Lee and put up a (poster) in front of the skating rink.” ” he said. He said, “There are a lot of these,” and “I thought that if such a person seizes power or continues to rise, national opinion will be divided in the politics of Lee Jae-myeong, a politics that divides citizens and citizens, and will not help the national interest at all.”