The Democratic Party criticizes, "How did the prosecution investigate... It's the same as during Roh Moo-hyun's era," over the death of Lee Nak-yeon's close aide

Seol Hoon "Why drive people to the brink of death?"
Park Soo-hyun "What was so unfair... 'Optimus suspicion,' trying to involve Lee Nak-yeon"
Lee Nak-yeon, Democratic Party leader, no direct mention... but "Will definitely launch the Corruption Investigation Office"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Won Dara] Regarding the death of Lee Mo, deputy chief of staff in the office of Lee Nak-yeon, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticism has been raised within the ruling party that the prosecution's excessive investigation is the cause.

On the morning of the 4th, senior lawmaker Seol Hoon, a five-term member of the Democratic Party, said in an interview with YTN Radio, in response to the question "Why did this situation arise?" that "The prosecution is truly cruel and excessively digging into this situation," emphasizing again, "The form of the prosecution has not changed at all. It is the same as during President Roh Moo-hyun's era and now."

Seol said, "The behavior of the prosecution has been the same from President Roh Moo-hyun's time to the current deputy chief of staff of Leader Lee." He added, "How has the prosecution conducted investigations so far that it has resulted in a person's death? This is not the first time," criticizing, "Are you ignoring the prosecution's behavior? Why are you driving people to the point of death?" He also emphasized, "This is not about the 'Optimus case,' but about renting a copier, which was supposed to cost 110,000 won per month, but it was not properly recorded. It was about 550,000 won or so."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Blue House spokesperson Park Soo-hyun wrote on his Facebook on the morning of the same day, "We firmly promised to overcome this together, so what was so unfair?" and said, "I could not hold back the tears flowing as I tied a black necktie on my way to work at dawn. I will not forget you." He continued, "I ask the media. You should not act like this in the face of the death of a dignified human being," urging, "The article headline was written as 'Optimus suspicion,' which is an intentional distortion to involve Leader Lee with Optimus. I request an immediate correction."

Democratic Party lawmaker Woo Sang-ho appeared on CBS Radio that morning and, when asked if the party atmosphere seemed gloomy, said, "Seeing someone suddenly make such an extreme choice, from the perspective of those who do politics together, regardless of rank or status, it is somewhat distressing," adding, "I wonder if there was some unspeakable reason that led to this decision. The party atmosphere is a bit dark."

When asked if the deceased was recognized within the party, he said, "He was one of the close aides who served the leader for a long time. Not very high-ranking," adding, "Regardless of rank or status, when one of the aides serving the leader makes such an extreme choice, the party atmosphere becomes somewhat gloomy." He also said, "No one can accurately grasp the details, so there is much speculation about 'what exactly happened.'"

Meanwhile, Leader Lee did not mention the related incident at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning. However, in his opening remarks at the Supreme Council, he emphasized, "This time, we will definitely launch the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) to institutionalize minimum democratic control over the prosecution."

Before the Supreme Council meeting, Leader Lee conveyed a message from Oh Young-hoon, chief secretary to the party leader, stating, "There is no way to suppress the grief. I do not know how to comfort the bereaved family." Oh said, "The deceased had been working as deputy chief of staff in the party leader's office since September. We pray for the deceased's repose and offer deep condolences to the bereaved family."

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