Moon's greetings, opposition presidential bids in a row... Lee "What on earth is going on?" vs Song "Success will be difficult"

Lee Jun-seok "Yoon Seok-yeol, Choi Jae-hyung, Kim Dong-yeon Value the Honor as Public Officials"
"Would Not Have Entered Politics If Not for a Series of Incidents in the Government... What Exactly Happened in the Government?"
Song Young-gil "Lee Hoi-chang, Who Served as Board of Audit and Inspection Chief under YS and Ran for President, Also Failed... Yoon Cannot Succeed Either"

[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Park Jun-i] Regarding the fact that former Moon Jae-in administration figures who declared their candidacy for next year's presidential election have been choosing to join the opposition one after another, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, sharply criticized, "What on earth happened in the (Moon Jae-in) government?" Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed regret for not properly evaluating these figures and appointing them during the Moon administration, but also downplayed their chances of success as presidential candidates in the future.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 21st, Lee appeared on SBS's 'Joo Young-jin's News Briefing' and said, "I personally met former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, and also met former Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman Choi Jae-hyung recently when he joined the party. I also heard from former Deputy Prime Minister Kim Dong-yeon. All three held significant positions in the Moon Jae-in government," adding, "These individuals value their honor as public officials, and perhaps if it weren't for a series of incidents in this government, they might not have entered politics."

He continued, "What exactly happened inside the Moon Jae-in government that we in the opposition party do not know, that made the Prosecutor General decide to enter politics, that made the Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman, who said this was his first time participating in politics, decide to join, and that made the Deputy Prime Minister, who opposed the flagship policy of income-led growth, resign and contemplate political participation? I don't know," and pointedly asked, "What on earth happened in the government?"

Some voices argue that the government and ruling party should reflect on the fact that those who served in the Moon administration are now emerging as next presidential candidates from the broad opposition camp.

In response, Song said, "The Blue House staff who appointed them at the time make excuses like 'We didn't expect this, they betrayed us,' but this is tantamount to confessing their own incompetence," and added, "First of all, we were simply lacking."

However, Song downplayed the chances of success for the presidential candidates who chose the opposition, saying, "Former Grand National Party Chairman Lee Hoi-chang also served as Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman under former President Kim Young-sam and ran for president but failed," targeting former Chairman Choi's trajectory with this remark.

He also said, "President Moon did not intervene with the Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman," adding, "He was simply reprimanded by our ruling party lawmakers in the National Assembly, but where is a Board of Audit and Inspection Chairman who hasn't been reprimanded to that extent? The Prosecutor General and the Blue House were also subjected to raids and all sorts of investigations."

Song criticized, "Rather, they should express at least some regret toward the president who appointed those two (former Prosecutor General Yoon and former Chairman Choi) and toward our country's constitutional order before entering politics. It is unpleasant to see Candidate Yoon Seok-yeol immediately badmouthing the government. I believe they cannot succeed."

In response, Lee defended Yoon, saying, "If I were in former Prosecutor General Yoon's position, I think I would also reconsider my support for the government."

He said, "The former Minister of Justice, Choo Mi-ae, who claimed to be his superior, harassed and audited him so much, and then the court later ruled otherwise. If that happened to me, I would also have many doubts."

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