"Seol Hoon Says 'High Possibility of Lee Jae-myung's Arrest,' Ruling Party Urges 'Respect the Tradition of Acceptance'"

To Seol Hoon: "Denying the fairness of the Democratic Party," "Not the right path of party politics"

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon (left) and Seol Hoon, co-chairman of the Lee Nak-yeon campaign committee (right). [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] The leadership of the Democratic Party of Korea issued a public warning message toward Assemblyman Seol Hoon, co-chairman of the Lee Nak-yeon campaign, who mentioned the 'possibility of imprisonment' regarding presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung.

On the 12th, Go Yong-jin, the senior spokesperson for the Democratic Party, stated in a written briefing, "Concerns inside and outside the party are growing over Assemblyman Seol's remarks related to Daejang-dong. It is truly regrettable because Assemblyman Seol has emphasized party unity and comradeship more than anyone else and has devoted himself to the party," adding, "We hope he will uphold the tradition of political acceptance."

Senior spokesperson Go pointed out, "His comments are too excessive to be considered advice to the party leadership or loyalty to the party," and said, "Assemblyman Seol has not presented any evidence to justify his worries about the risks caused by the Daejang-dong allegations. Even if it is concern over election defeat, it is causing great wounds to the hearts of comrades."

He continued, "If he has secured decisive evidence or testimony, he should seek judgment from experts inside and outside the party and verify the facts," adding, "Ignoring the party's collective intelligence and repeatedly making definitive claims does not seem to be the behavior of a senior party member."

He further stated, "Attacking the presidential candidate elected by party members and the public with excessive claims without following party organizations and procedures during the primary process is not the right way of party politics. It also denies the fairness of the Democratic Party," and urged, "We earnestly ask Assemblyman Seol, a proud senior member of the Democratic Party, to return to the original intention of putting the party first and personal matters later."

Earlier that morning, Assemblyman Seol claimed on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "I hope (candidate Lee Jae-myung) will not be imprisoned, but the possibility has become very high, which is an objective fact," and added, "I have met and talked with several people. I met at least three involved parties."

He emphasized, "Due to various flaws that candidate Lee has, if things continue as they are, there will be a critical defect in the one-team unity. It is an objective fact that there are prior convictions, scandals, and numerous issues that cannot be counted one by one," and said, "Can we win the general election going in without a one-team? It is an objective fact that we will lose."

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