FMR. GANGWON GOVERNOR ON LEGOLAND SCANDAL

[Anchor Lead]

A financial crunch brought on by the Legoland theme park in Gangwon-do Province has led to a blame game between former and incumbent Gangwon-do governors. Former governor Choi Moon-soon criticized how sitting governor Kim Jin-tae is running the province while Kim refutes Choi's claims against him.

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Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation took out loans amounting to 205 billion won to build Legoland in Chuncheon, Gangwon-do Province. The loan was backed by Gangwon-do Province. Former governor Choi Moon-soon, who had overseen the project, now openly criticizes how current governor Kim Jin-tae is dealing with the chaos in the bonds market caused by the Legoland theme park. In an interview with a major network, Choi claimed that the theme park developer's declaration of default resulted from Kim's politically motivated attack on him. The former governor added that the Gangwon Jungdo Development Corporation would have paid back the loan through guarantee extension if left alone.

[Soundbite] Choi Moon-soon(Former Gangwon-do Governor (Oct. 25, MBC Radio)) : "This financial statement shows that GJC is in the black. Politicians usually attack one another. This time the punches and kicks missed the mark."

Gangwon-do Province blasted that Choi's claims lacked an understanding of accounting. Choi says the company has enough assets to be regarded as being in the black. But the assets include 205 billion won in debt. In fact, the developer's expenses are 170 billion won more than its revenues, which indicates the company is in the red. The province also noted the development corporation pays more than 10 billion won in annual interest.

[Soundbite] Kim Yong-gyun(Gangwon-do Prov. Gov’t Spokesperson) : "The corporation’s July report already shows more than KRW 40 bn in deficit. Given that the corporation has to pay for the project cost for a relics museum and contingent liabilities, the deficit is projected to increase considerably."

As a blame game between the former and current governors rages on, about 20 contractors that built the infrastructure for Legoland claimed that GJC failed to pay them 13 billion won in construction cost and demanded the provincial government take responsibility for the delinquent payment.