[Summary] Ruling Party: "Wasting Time on Political Strife" vs Opposition: "If Confident, Special Prosecutor" 'Lime·Optimus' Dispute

與 "Not Subject to Special Prosecutor"
野 "Must Be Revealed by Special Prosecutor for Public Trust"

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the floor leader meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 13th. Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Ga-yeon] The conflict between the ruling and opposition parties is intensifying over the Lime and Optimus fund fraud scandal. The opposition party is labeling this case as a 'power-type gate' and continues to push for a special prosecutor investigation. The ruling party responded to the opposition's offensive by saying, "Don't waste time in vain."

On the 14th, Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and urged, "If you are confident, accept the National Assembly's special prosecutor investigation," regarding the allegations of ruling party figures being involved in the Lime and Optimus cases.

Joo said, "Although the private equity fund recruitment process is different, related people connected to the regime's key figures have emerged, and in internal documents, they themselves wrote that 'there are signs it could escalate into a power-type corruption gate.' Five public institutions invested a whopping 82.8 billion won. Public institutions do not do this easily unless an invisible hand is involved," he claimed.

He continued, "The names of powerful figures keep coming up around this case. Therefore, we believe this case could not have reached this extent without protection or corruption from power, so we are calling it a power-type corruption gate. There are traces everywhere that the investigation teams neglected their duties. Lee Nak-yeon, the leader of the Democratic Party, and Kim Tae-nyeon, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, seem to be trying to downplay this case," he said.

He added, "Whether it is entrusted to the special investigation team formed by Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol or a special prosecutor, it must be revealed for the public to trust. Who would believe this when the referee and the player are on the same side? If the regime is confident, they should accept the National Assembly's special prosecutor investigation. It will be resolved at once," he said.

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News.

The ruling party dismissed the opposition's offensive as an attempt at political strife and rejected the call for a special prosecutor.

Kim Tae-nyeon, the floor leader, criticized at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, "The opposition's chronic attempt at political strife is very regrettable," and added, "It is unfortunate to waste time on the National Assembly audit by inflating allegations involving only ruling party figures."

He continued, "The audit is not a place to amplify baseless suspicions through political strife. We have urged the opposition to stop trying to escalate Lime and Optimus into a power-type gate," and emphasized, "The Minister of Justice has expressed a strong will for a strict investigation, and the Prosecutor General has requested an increase in investigation teams, so the investigation will be thorough and transparent according to law and principles to reveal the truth."

Park Sung-joon, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, said at the National Assembly communication office that day, "(A special prosecutor) is not under consideration," and "We need to see how the prosecution investigation proceeds."

Yang Hyang-ja, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, said, "If someone from our party is found to be involved in this fund, they will also be held responsible," and requested, "The opposition should also actively participate in constructive discussions to resolve these issues and prevent recurrence, ultimately to make the capital market more transparent and advanced."

Yang added, "While a thorough prosecution investigation should proceed, even based on the confirmed facts revealed so far, it seems that financial authorities need reflection and introspection," and pointed out, "The damage to well-intentioned subscribers should be minimized, and incomplete sales by sellers should also be examined."

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