Kwon Seong-dong, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, is seen drinking water while inspecting the local drought situation at Gangneung City Hall in Gangwon Province on the 9th. Yonhap News. 

Kwon Seong-dong, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, claimed that President Lee Jae-myung's order to halt the Philippines' official development assistance (ODA) loan project, in which suspicions of his intervention have been raised, is "essentially no different from the suppression of political rivals that former President Moon Jae-in directly ordered investigations into me."

On this day, Kwon stated on Facebook, "Immediately after the motion for arrest against me was reported in the National Assembly today, President Lee abruptly canceled the Official Development Assistance (ODA) loan project with the Philippines along with criticism against me."

He argued, "President Lee made a fuss as if he had saved 700 billion won, but this only reveals his ignorance of the basics of administration." He explained, "What was ordered in October 2024 was a feasibility study, which is a standard procedure in all ODA projects before full review and approval, and does not mean loan support or fund disbursement."

He added, "The feasibility study is independently reviewed and approved by the Ministry of Economy and Finance and the Export-Import Bank of Korea, and individual lawmakers cannot influence it. Ultimately, President Lee's statement has proven himself to be a political show to cover up his incompetence or justify the suppression of political rivals."

He further stated, "There are lines that should not be crossed even in suppressing the opposition party. These are national interests and diplomatic relations between countries." He added, "President Lee should look at the national interest, not political strife, and the people, not the elimination of political rivals."

The previous day, a current affairs weekly reported that the 700 billion won Philippine civil engineering project, which the Ministry of Economy and Finance rejected ODA loan support for in February last year due to concerns of corruption, was resumed under pressure from Rep. Kwon Seong-dong on then-Minister of Economy and Finance Choi Sang-mok and others.

This morning, President Lee shared the article on Facebook and said, "I have ordered an immediate halt to the procedures for the project. Fortunately, the project has not yet commenced, so no project costs, including ODA support, have been disbursed."

Yonhap News