In response to Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's announcement of an "appropriateness review" regarding Gyeonggi Province Governor Chu Mi-ae's election expenses, Governor Chu's side pushed back, calling it a "common-sense contract."

In a written briefing today (September 18), Gyeonggi Province Spokesperson Hong Eun-kwang addressed the controversy surrounding the substantial election expenses paid to a specific political consulting firm during the June 3 local elections, stating, "It is entirely common sense to conduct an election campaign by contracting with a firm that has accumulated data and know-how."

"Those who understand the characteristics of metropolitan-level elections would wonder why the current situation is even an issue," Hong added, noting that "details regarding the gubernatorial election expenses are transparently disclosed to the Election Commission at this very moment, and no issues have ever been flagged by the Election Commission regarding the execution of election costs."

Expressing regret, Hong said, "We ran the election by borrowing a significant amount from the party and set an unprecedented example by repaying the party in full after the election," adding, "We question the background behind why an untimely controversy over election expenses is being raised without any basis."

Earlier, some media outlets reported that Governor Chu's expenses for the past June 3 local elections totaled approximately 5.56 billion won, of which about 2.09 billion won was paid to a political consulting firm operated by a pro-administration YouTuber surnamed Park.

In relation to this, Democratic Party leader Kim appeared on the party's official YouTube channel "Minjoo TV" today and said, "Because this involves a contract related to a party candidate, we are watching it with interest." He added, "Since this is funded by public tax money, we inevitably have a public responsibility to examine whether the contracted price was appropriate."

He went on to say, "We will look into whether the appropriateness of the price was guaranteed—meaning whether, beyond just the supply of goods, the consulting and content were truly worth that value, and whether the working-level officials were transparent in those relationships," and noted, "If issues are raised, the party will inevitably have to get involved."

(Photo: Yonhap News)