SK cancels support for bridge project

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung has halted proceedings for a multi-billion development loan for a bridge project in the Philippines after it was revealed the loan had been revived under political pressure despite being initially rejected over its risk for corruption.

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The suspension came a day after South Korean investigative outlet Hankyoreh 21 reported that a Korean lawmaker now embroiled in a political funds scandal had pressured the country’s finance minister to approve the loan, overturning the Ministry of Economy and Finance’s rejection of the project in February 2024.

“It has been ordered to immediately stop proceedings for the business in question that has been identified as a fraudulent business,” Lee wrote on Facebook in Korean. “The most fortunate thing is that the business has not yet been completed, so business expenses such as supporting the Foreign Economic Cooperation Fund have not been spent.”

The South Korean president’s order to halt proceedings for the bridge project follows the South Korean government’s earlier decision not to support the project in February 2024 due to corruption concerns linked to a local Filipino contractor with a history of faulty construction and graft in similar projects.