South Korean presidential election: ”Turtle Island Gate” allegations emerge... Ruling and opposition parties clash

In South Korea, the unexpected "Turtle Island Controversy" is shaking up the political world. With the presidential election approaching on June 3, the ruling and opposition parties have been arguing over the construction of a leisure facility on Gobsom (Turtle Island) in Siheung, Gyeonggi Province.
The Democratic Party of Korea candidate Lee Jae-myung has called the facility a "successful example of rapid business attraction" when he was governor of Gyeonggi Province.
In response, the ruling party called it a "hotbed of preferential treatment and corruption" and raised suspicions of the "Turtle Island Gate." In response, the Democratic Party of Korea strongly refuted the allegations, calling it an "insult to the efforts of the Siheung people to rebuild."
During a campaign rally the day before, Lee said that when he was the governor of Gyeonggi Province, he had encouraged the mayor of Siheung and related companies to attract businesses to Turtle Island in Gyeonggi Province, saying, "If you come to Turtle Island in Gyeonggi Province, we will actively support you."
He emphasized that it took only two years from approval to construction and completion, and touted Turtle Island's success, saying, "It's a success story of how 'Lee Jae-myung's Gyeonggi Province' quickly attracted a large company."
In response, the ruling People Power Party and the New Reform Party criticized Lee's remarks as being unrealistic and are preparing to thoroughly pursue him, even bringing up allegations of preferential treatment and corruption.
The People's Power harshly criticized, "The reality of Turtle Island is a microcosm of Lee Jae-myung's politics." Park Sung Hoon, spokesman for the National Election Strategy Committee, said, "This is not a simple administrative failure,
"Rather than reflecting on his failure, Lee is shamelessly turning it into something he's bragging about," he said, criticizing the move as an insult to the self-employed who were forced to close their businesses.
Na Kyung-won, joint election committee chair, also said, "The only people who benefited were the land sellers, and there was a huge incident where a mother and daughter committed suicide.
"If they boasted about it while knowing about it, it's shameless, but if they boasted about it without knowing about it, it's a display of incompetence and irresponsibility," he added sarcastically.
Joo Jin-woo, co-chair of the election campaign committee, wrote on his Facebook page,
"This reveals an understanding that is far removed from economic reality, comparable to Lee Jae-myung's comment that the cost of rice is 120 won," he said, calling it "a major administrative failure under Lee Jae-myung."
In a commentary, deputy spokesman for the election campaign committee Park Gi-young said, "Is Lee Jae-myung the people's presidential candidate or a con man's presidential candidate?"
He added, "All the projects that candidate Lee is involved in are rife with suspicions of preferential treatment and corruption. He must immediately explain the Turtle Island scandal."
Lee Jun-seok, candidate of the New Reform Party, voiced similar criticism.
"Candidate Jae Myung went to Siheung and said things that showed he didn't know the reality," he said, "Business in the surrounding area is poor, the shopping district is full of vacant stores, and local merchants are suffering. He said, 'I built it.'"
"If Lee Jae-myung had any interest in Siheung, he should have understood the actual situation on the ground before taking to the stage to campaign.
"Politics shouldn't just boast about its achievements once and then be over with; it should continue to take an interest in problems and work to solve them," he said, criticizing the government.
In response, the Democratic Party of Korea issued a counterargument, saying, "We are undermining the efforts of the Siheung people to rebuild Turtle Island."
In response to the criticism of candidate Lee Jun-seok, Cho Seung-rae, chief spokesman for the election campaign committee, said, "Candidate Lee Jae-myung said, 'There is no tourism attraction on Turtle Island.
"I merely mentioned during a campaign rally that we were trying to attract a wave park in order to break the current difficult situation," he said, claiming that the accusation was the spreading of false facts.
Zhao said, "The Turtle Island project was designated as a national marina port on the 20th.
"It was 15 years ago, when President Park Geun-hye and Governor Nam Kyung-pil of the Saenuri Party were in charge of Gyeonggi Province," he said. "Lee Jae-myung-chi of the Democratic Party, who was elected in 2018,
"Is it reasonable to make political attacks against the government, such as building a turtle island in Lake Sihwa and designating it as a marina port?" the Democratic Party of Korea has also filed complaints against Lee Jun-seok, Rep. Na and Rep. Joo.
Meanwhile, candidate Lee Jun-seok has once again launched a counterargument on his blog. "Did I ever say that candidate Lee Jae-myung reclaimed Turtle Island?" he asked, "What about the Turtle Island?"
The central facility is Wave Park, and the mention of Wave Park had a major impact when the shopping district was sold off. Despite the fact that the vacant lots in the shopping district were being affected by this, Lee Jae-myung
"When I see you countering with accusations that you don't know the current situation on Turtle Island, it seems you don't want the reality of Turtle Island to be mentioned," he retorted.