The Democratic Party of Korea said its ethics inspection unit found "no charges against the candidate personally" regarding Lee Won-taek, a gubernatorial candidate for Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province, who has faced allegations of having meal expenses paid by a third party.
Kang Jun-hyun, the party's chief spokesperson, told reporters after the Supreme Council meeting held in Daegu on Thursday that "the primary schedule for Jeonbuk Special Self-Governing Province will proceed as planned." He added, "However, the inspection into Jeonbuk Provincial Council member Kim Seul-ji will continue, and if other charges are found, strict measures will be taken immediately." Kim is the figure accused of paying meal expenses on behalf of candidate Lee.
Earlier, the Parliamentary Newspaper reported allegations that a third party paid approximately 750,000 won in meal expenses for a meeting organized by Lee. Lee immediately denied the allegations, calling them "clearly false." He explained, "The gathering was a policy discussion meeting requested by young people, and I paid for my own meal. How other attendees' meal expenses were handled is not something I would know."
In response, rival candidate Ahn Ho-young called for the primary schedule to be postponed until the investigation is completed. A day earlier, Ahn said, "They should investigate quickly, and if there are problems, they should consider holding the primary after reviewing the results."