Kim Jin-hyang, the executive chairman of the Korea Peace Economy Conference, stated on the 1st that reports claiming global investor Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings, did not support Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party of Korea’s presidential candidate, were false, saying, “Chairman Rogers did indeed support candidate Lee.”
Kim posted on Facebook that there were “some errors in the process of confirming the final wording of the support statement exchanged between me and Professor Song Kyung-ho, who is in the U.K., due to the tight schedule,” noting this discrepancy.
He said, “He explained that disclosing the errors via social media would have meant revealing private conversations with Chairman Rogers, who is a U.S. citizen, and that such disclosure would have been inappropriate.” He added, “I express my deep regret to all involved for the confusion caused by the mistakes in revising and delivering the statement.”
Kim further noted, “This support was made in good faith by myself, Professor Song, and Chairman Rogers,” and promised, “After the election, I will disclose the entire process through which the support statement was created.”
Previously, on May 29, Democratic Party of Korea’s campaign headquarters' international cooperation committee co-head Lee Jae-gang read the statement of support from Chairman Rogers for candidate Lee at the National Assembly.
However, a media outlet reported that Chairman Rogers was completely unaware of the declaration supporting candidate Lee, quoting him as saying it was “complete fraud.”
The People Power Party and the Reform Party criticized candidate Lee and the Democratic Party of Korea based on these reports.
Kim Moon-soo, the People Power Party presidential candidate, called it “a deliberate manipulation of public opinion and a scam against the nation.” Emergency Committee Chairman Kim Yong-tae also labeled it “international disgrace,” questioning, “How is this different from investment fraud using a celebrity’s name?”
Lee Jun-seok, the Reform Party’s presidential candidate, also said on SNS that “lying has just become routine,” questioning, “How can they tell such lies to the public?”