Lawmaker Rejects Alleged Speculation, Unveils Donation Plans
Umer Jamshaid Published January 24, 2019 | 12:25 AM
A lawmaker embroiled in allegations of real estate speculation rejected suspicions raised by media outlets as "distorted" news on Wednesday and unveiled plans to donate assets related to the controversy
Rep. Sohn Hye-won is alleged to have mobilized her relatives and aides to buy properties in an old district of Mokpo, 410 kilometers southwest of Seoul, before authorities designated it as a cultural asset site.
The former ruling party lawmaker held a press conference to deny the allegations at an abandoned factory in Mokpo, which she bought to set up a museum of lacquerware inlaid with mother-of-pearl in the name of a cultural foundation run by her husband.
She said that she will donate all the relics she has collected and assets of the foundation to the city of Mokpo or South Jeolla Province where the city is located, a move apparently aimed at stressing she has no intent for property speculation.
"I am saying I will donate the collection, which is worth billions of won if sold. What benefits would I reap in this land?" she said.
Sohn is alleged to have used inside information she obtained while serving on the parliamentary culture committee and to have provided money to her relatives for the purchases.
She has denied the allegations, claiming that she encouraged her aides to buy properties as an act of goodwill to revive the city.
Most of the buildings bought by Sohn's relatives and aides are believed to have been constructed during the 1910-45 Japanese colonial occupation.
Sohn served as the ruling party's chief of the parliamentary culture committee. She is believed to have raised the need to restore cultural assets in Mokpo at a budget panel meeting of the culture committee in November 2017.
The prosecution has launched a probe into her following a civic group's complaint against her over alleged abuse of power and leaking of confidential information obtained on duty.
"Throughout my life, I've never exerted influence on others to my advantage," she claimed.
"I'll apologize (to the public) if there are any other benefits as a lawmaker, even if my acts are not legally problematic," Sohn added.
Sohn quit the ruling Democratic Party on Sunday, vowing to fight to the end to prove her innocence.
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