Opposition Targets Yun Mi-hyang... People Power Party Freshmen Group Invites Lee Jong-chan for Lecture

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[Image source=Office of Heo Eun-ah, People Power Party]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Opposition parties including the People Power Party and the People Party have launched a strong campaign urging Yoon Mi-hyang, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who was indicted without detention on charges of fraud and breach of trust, to resign. The People Power Party’s study group for first-term lawmakers, ‘Myeongbulheojeon Bosuda,’ targeted this case directly and invited Lee Jong-chan, the grandson of independence activist Lee Hoe-young and director of the Udang Memorial Hall, to deliver a lecture. Lee is a former four-term National Assembly member and the first director of the National Intelligence Service.

On the 16th, at the Udang Memorial Hall in Jongno-gu, Seoul, Lee delivered a lecture titled ‘The Independence Movement and the Identity of the Republic of Korea,’ sharply criticizing the ruling party’s unilateral actions. He said, “Politics is not about dividing people like these days. The National Assembly is a place for compromise,” adding, “I founded the Democratic Justice Party (Minjungdang) and became floor leader as soon as I entered the 11th National Assembly. At that time, we held more than two-thirds of the seats. However, I never operated the National Assembly alone. Even during the military regime, we compromised.”

Regarding some conservatives’ claims about the founding day of the nation, Lee criticized, “If you wrongly claim a founding day, it legitimizes colonial occupation.” He continued, “We have had a country for a long time; Japan only occupied it. We fought the independence movement to remove that occupation. Most of our 5,000-year history was under monarchy, and it was only in 1919 that it changed to a nation of the people. When this is clarified, there is no confusion.”

This lecture was arranged at the invitation of Yoon Joo-kyung, a People Power Party lawmaker and granddaughter of independence activist Yoon Bong-gil. Yoon Joo-kyung pointed out, “There is a saying not to talk recklessly about history without having lived in that era. Nowadays, our generation is recklessly manipulating history without having lived through that time.” Heo Eun-ah, a People Power Party lawmaker and secretary of Myeongbulheojeon Bosuda, said, “The message from Kim Won-woong, president of the Liberation Association, delivered in front of President Moon Jae-in on August 15, once again drove our society into a field of division. The public is angry at the treasonous acts of profiting from the past, such as the Yoon Mi-hyang case,” adding, “It is time for wisdom for a future of integration beyond past divisions.”

The opposition parties unanimously launched fierce attacks against lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang. Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at a floor strategy meeting on the 15th, “The Democratic Party leadership must take measures to either force Yoon Mi-hyang to resign or expel her because she cannot maintain her position as a lawmaker solely based on the charges against her,” adding, “We are considering submitting this issue to the National Assembly Ethics Committee.” Ahn Hye-jin, spokesperson for the People Party, said in a statement that day, “Why is someone who should be fighting against her criminal acts by resigning from all party positions in the Democratic Party wasting taxpayers’ money by staying in the National Assembly?” and pressured, “Stop causing public outrage and voluntarily resign.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.