A September 28 report said that the election accounting report of former Seoul mayoral candidate Jeong Won-o’s camp included expenditures related to the Korea Society Opinion Institute (KSOI).
The key point is not to treat the total transaction amount with KSOI and the political consulting contract amount as the same figure.
The propriety or illegality of the transactions has not been established based solely on this report.
3-Line Summary
1. Transactions between Jeong Won-o’s camp and KSOI were reported.
2. The total transaction amount was 12억7513만원.
3. No definitive judgment on their propriety has yet been made.
5억원 in Consulting and a 12억7513만원 Transaction Amount
According to reports by Newdaily and Chosun Ilbo, the accounting records of former candidate Jeong Won-o’s camp obtained by the office of People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum from the Seoul Metropolitan Election Commission list transactions related to KSOI. The total transaction amount was reported as 12억7513만원8265원.
Not all of this amount was for political consulting. According to the reports, the political consulting contract was worth 5억원, while the cost of producing election campaign materials was approximately 7억원. It was also reported to include the costs of producing banners, lighting, business cards, and other items.
Newdaily reported that some payments were made beginning with a contract payment of 1000만원 on April 24, and that approximately 3억1700만원 remained unpaid as accounts payable at the time of the accounting report. Therefore, the expression “13억원 in consulting” alone makes it difficult to distinguish the composition of the transaction and the amounts actually paid or unpaid.
Claims Concerning the Company Relationship and Broadcast Remarks
The report said that Jang Hyeong-cheol, a deputy director, works at KSOI. It introduced him as having served as a secretary at Seongnam City Hall while President Lee Jae-myung was mayor of Seongnam and as having joined KSOI in 2023.
The report said that Deputy Director Jang spoke about controversies related to opinion polls surrounding then-candidate Jeong on YTN Radio on April 8, and that on the 29th of the same month, he introduced KSOI’s survey results on a broadcast. The two reports treated the relationship between the contract and the broadcast remarks as background to the controversy.
Lawmaker Yoo Sang-bum argued that verification based on the same standards was necessary. Meanwhile, Democratic Party of Korea leader Kim Min-seok was reported to have stated that he would examine whether certain opinion polling and consulting companies were engaged in commercial activities. This was a statement concerning a policy of investigation or review; no official judgment or result concerning the transaction involving former candidate Jeong’s camp has been issued.
The figures that must first be distinguished in this matter are the total transaction amount and the consulting fee. The contract details, the propriety of the costs, and the transparency of the transaction process are separate matters requiring verification.
References
Tags #JeongWon-o #JeongWon-oCamp #SeoulMayoralCandidate #KSOI #KoreaSocietyOpinionInstitute #PoliticalConsulting #ElectionAccounting #ElectionExpenses #SeoulMetropolitanElectionCommission #YooSang-bum #OpinionPolling #ElectionCampaignMaterials