[Newsmaker] No mole found on Gov. Lee’s body: doctors

Doctors confirmed Tuesday that Gyeonggi Province Gov. Lee Jae-myung does not have a distinctive mole on his body after he visited a university hospital to deny an actress’s claim.

Actress Kim Bu-seon lodged a police complaint and filed a lawsuit alleging defamation after Lee denied her claims that he had an extramarital affair with her. To back her argument, she described a hidden mole on the governor.

To prove he has no such mole, Lee went to Ajou University Hospital on Tuesday afternoon.

“A mole was not found where the actress insisted it would be. There is neither a circular mole, nor a trace of laser removal, cut or suture,” the Ajou University Hospital medical team said after checking Gov. Lee’s body.

As two doctors conducted the check, three local reporters covering the Gyeonggi Provincial Government and three provincial officials were also present for verification. The ordeal lasted seven minutes.

The mole dispute was first brought up early this month after an anonymous Twitter user released a two-minute recording of a telephone conversation between Kim and a well-known writer in which Kim mentions Lee has a “large black mole” on his private parts, and that she could use it as a “smoking gun” in court. Kim had asked the police to confirm her description.

Last week, Lee had said he would show his body to investigators in order to prevent obstructions in the administration of Gyeonggi Province with its 13 million people. But because police did not take further actions to check his body, the governor went to the hospital with reporters and officials to get the checkup himself and put an end to the suspicions.

In a radio interview Tuesday morning, Lee admitted to a red mark on his body, but added that it is not near his genitals.

“I feel humiliated because I am a person too. I am willing to get this confirmed despite the humiliation because I believe it is my duty as a civil servant (who is authorized and paid) to work for many people to put an end to such controversies making headlines every day,” he said.

Last week police raided Lee’s home in an investigation concerning suspicions he used his authority as the then-mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, to forcibly commit his estranged brother to a mental hospital and lied about the matter during the election campaign.

Lee has faced a number of allegations, both before and since being elected governor of Gyeonggi Province. They involve his family, his alleged affiliation with an organized crime syndicate and the alleged affair with Kim.

In June, the minor opposition Bareunmirae Party filed a complaint against Lee alleging he had violated the election law by falsely denying the use of his power as mayor to have his brother, now deceased, hospitalized against his will in 2012.

The party also claimed he lied about the alleged affair with Kim during the campaign and pressured local companies to provide more than 16 billion won ($14.2 million) to the city-affiliated pro soccer team in the form of advertising revenue.

Lee, affiliated with the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, won the heated election in June and became governor of the province that surrounds Seoul. He was also a contender in the party’s presidential primary last year.

By Kim So-hyun and Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)