People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jae-seop raised allegations of collusion between Chong Won-o, a preliminary Seoul mayoral candidate from the Democratic Party of Korea and former Seongdong District chief, and Kwon Hyeok-min, head of Deutsch Motors. Kim said it was "a textbook case of collusion between politics and business and an economic community," while Chong's camp countered that "it is not true."
On the 19th, Kim posted on Facebook, saying, "An article that raised an issue with then-District Chief Chong holding the 'Seongdong District Chief's Cup Golf Tournament' at the time of the National Resource fire was suddenly deleted, and I suspected they were gagging the press to hide something," adding, "Deutsch Motors was a sponsor of the tournament, and Deutsch Motors head Kwon Hyeok-min and then-District Chief Chong even dined side by side at the same head table."
Kim also released a photo of candidate Chong and head Kwon sitting at the same table. Kim said, "The process of Deutsch Motors moving its headquarters to Seongdong District is suspicious," and added, "By coincidence, they 'just happened' to begin donating to the Seongdong District Office in January 2017, and, coincidentally, that June of the same year the Seongsu-dong office building received use approval after being granted the maximum floor area ratio of 400%."
Kim recalled that the Democratic Party had once fiercely criticized the relationship between Kim Keon-hee and Deutsch Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo as an "economic community," and said, "By the Democratic Party's signature 'economic community' logic, isn't the relationship between Chong Won-o and Deutsch Motors the very definition of collusion between politics and business and an economic community?"
In response, Chong's camp issued materials refuting the claim. Chong's camp said, "Deutsch Motors acquired the headquarters site in 2012, and construction began in 2015. Therefore, the donations made through the Community Chest of Korea starting in 2017 are unrelated to the transfer of the headquarters."
They also said, "The site in Seongsu-dong is a quasi-industrial zone and, by default, is subject to a 400% floor area ratio," adding, "They dressed up a normal administrative process in accordance with legal standards as a special favor." On the seating arrangement in the photo, they explained that it was determined by the Seongdong District Sports Council and the Seongdong District Golf Association, which hosted and organized the tournament.
Chong's camp said, "It is absurd to link official donations for struggling Seongdong residents on the same line as an 'economic community.'"