Gangwon Province Governor-elect Kim Jin-tae, left, and Legoland Korea Divisional Director Phil Royle / Korea Times files

Former prosecutor vows to reveal truth behind controversial project

By Park Jae-hyuk

Controversies surrounding the Legoland Korea Resort in Chuncheon City have emerged as the main focus of Gangwon Province Governor-elect Kim Jin-tae, causing uncertainty around the operation of the Lego-themed amusement park by its British operator, Merlin Entertainments, according to civic groups and local media, Wednesday.

The governor-elect said in an interview with a local broadcaster, Tuesday, that it is necessary to look into the Legoland project.

"There is no reason for me to oppose a proposal from civic groups to establish an ad hoc committee to investigate controversies over the construction of Legoland," he told Gangwon CBS.

For the past few years, civic groups in the province have been alleging that Governor Choi Moon-soon signed a suspicious agreement with Merlin offering an unfairly low rental price for the theme park site, while provincial assembly members failed to scrutinize the agreement sufficiently.

Kim, a former prosecutor who belongs to the ruling People Power Party, has repeatedly expressed his intention to reveal the truth behind the contract signed by the outgoing governor, who's a member of the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK).