Yoon Hee-sook "Resign if Declared Not Guilty" vs Lee Jae-myung's Side "Clumsy Water Ghost Tactic"

Yoon Hee-sook Requests Voluntary Investigation by Corruption Investigation Office
"If Cleared, Ruling Party Politicians Should Resign from Assembly" Demands
Lee Jae-myung's Side Criticizes as "Nonsense"

Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province and presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] The campaign team of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, directly responded to People Power Party lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook's demand to "resign if cleared of charges," calling it a "clumsy water ghost tactic."

Jeon Yong-gi, a Democratic Party lawmaker and spokesperson for Lee's campaign, issued a statement on the 27th, saying, "Lawmaker Yoon appears to be attempting a crisis turnaround by demanding the resignation of candidate Lee Jae-myung and broadcaster Kim Eo-jun," adding, "This is nothing but audacity."

Regarding Yoon's promise to return the profits generated from the sale of farmland in Sejong City by her father to society, Jeon pointed out, "Please abandon the idea that the issue will end if you just wash your hands of the illegal suspicions like a resignation show."

He also strongly criticized, saying, "Her behavior, filled with absurd words and venting to feign innocence, reveals that her true intention was merely to showcase her presence as a politician by any means."

He added, "Since Lawmaker Yoon has voluntarily requested an investigation, we will calmly observe the results going forward," and "The public will make their judgment then."

Yoon Hee-sook, a member of the People Power Party, is leaving the communication center at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 27th after holding a press conference regarding allegations of land speculation involving her father. / Photo by Yonhap News

On the same day, Lawmaker Yoon held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office regarding allegations of her father's violation of the Farmland Act, stating, "I am now requesting an investigation on myself by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO)."

She emphasized, "If the CIO cannot handle it, I will request the Joint Investigation Headquarters again. This is my politics that protects the people's standards without vested interests," and "I will submit whatever is necessary for clarification."

She continued, "If a thorough investigation reveals no charges, all Democratic Party politicians who conspired with false slanders while laughing should resign from their parliamentary seats," criticizing, "Is it appropriate for politicians to recklessly throw around such serious criminal allegations?"

She further claimed, "What does it mean that Woo Won-shik, the election countermeasures committee chairman of the Lee Jae-myung campaign, Kim Nam-guk, the chief of staff, and spokesperson Nam Young-hee took the lead in slandering?" and "It means that the Lee Jae-myung campaign itself is a camp where they sit together and plot dirty conspiracies."

A handwritten letter from Yoon's father disclosed by Representative Yoon / Photo by Hee-sook Yoon, Facebook capture

According to an investigation by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) released on the 23rd, Yoon's father, Mr. A, purchased 10,871 square meters of rice paddies in Jeonui-myeon, Sejong City, in 2016. The ACRC found that Mr. A likely violated the Farmland Act by not farming the land himself but entrusting it to others and receiving seven sacks of rice annually.

In relation to this, on the 27th, Yoon disclosed a handwritten apology letter from her father. In the letter, Mr. A wrote, "I did not expect that preparing for the twilight of my life while living an ordinary old age would cause such a big storm," and "As a father, I am sorry for causing great pain to my daughter, who is an outsider."

He added, "I ask you to widely consider that this is not my daughter's fault but that of a foolish father," and promised, "I will donate all the profits from the farmland in question to society."

Meanwhile, two days after the allegations of her father's violation of the Farmland Act surfaced, on the 25th, Lawmaker Yoon held a press conference to announce her withdrawal from the presidential race and resignation from the National Assembly.

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