Opposition Candidates Fiercely Criticize President Moon and Lee Jae-myung Meeting as a "Wrong Encounter"

Yoon Seok-yeol on Moon and Lee Meeting: "Wrong Encounter... Clear Election Interference"
Yoo Seung-min: "Is There a Backdoor Deal for Moon's Safety After Resignation?"
Won Hee-ryong: "Urgent Need for Special Prosecutor"

President Moon Jae-in is taking a commemorative photo with Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, on the 26th at Sangchunjae in the Blue House before their informal talk. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] On the 26th, the presidential candidates of the People Power Party criticized the meeting between President Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, calling it a "wrong meeting" and repeatedly urged acceptance of a special prosecutor investigation into the Daejang-dong scandal.

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl posted on his Facebook that "The sitting president calling the ruling party's presidential candidate to the Blue House for a meeting is a clear act of election interference," adding, "No matter what 'excuse' is given, it is a 'wrong meeting.'"

He said, "This meeting is obviously part of candidate Lee's election campaign. And President Moon acted as a backdrop for this campaign," emphasizing, "The president, who must strictly maintain election neutrality, should not behave like this."

He continued, "The meeting between the two is especially problematic because candidate Lee is currently under investigation by the prosecution for the Daejang-dong gate," adding, "Without even quoting the words of a senior ruling party lawmaker, candidate Lee is a subject of a criminal investigation who does not know when he will be summoned by the prosecution and may be arrested depending on the circumstances."

Furthermore, he said, "If candidate Lee comes to power, he will further destroy the rule of law that the Moon administration has undermined, as well as the constitutional spirit and the system of the Republic of Korea that they have damaged," stressing, "From the people's perspective, it is like avoiding wolves in a rough mountain only to meet a tiger. Such a situation must be prevented."

Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party's presidential primary candidate, visited the National Seoul National Cemetery in Dongjak-gu, Seoul on the 26th. After paying respects at the late President Kim Young-sam's grave, he responded to questions from the press. Photo by the National Assembly Press Photographers Group

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min also expressed concern on Facebook, saying, "In today's meeting, President Moon is likely to cover up candidate Lee's Daejang-dong gate, and candidate Lee is likely to make a backdoor deal to guarantee President Moon's personal safety after his retirement," adding, "After today, they will stop at nothing to extend their regime."

Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong also posted on Facebook titled "Moon-Lee, inappropriate meeting makes special prosecutor introduction urgent," sharply criticizing, "The meeting between President Moon and candidate Lee should not have even been discussed."

He said, "There is not only the issue of election interference, but candidate Lee is currently in the status of an accused," adding, "Today's meeting could become an 'implicit guideline' that may prevent the investigative system from functioning properly. This also undermines the public trust in investigative agencies."

He continued, "Other options for investigating the Daejang-dong gate have been eliminated today. We cannot just watch the second season of election interference in the Ulsan mayoral election with our eyes open," raising his voice, "For a fair and just investigation, the ruling party and candidate Lee must immediately accept a special prosecutor and a parliamentary audit."

Meanwhile, President Moon and candidate Lee had a 50-minute tea meeting at Sangchunjae in the Blue House that morning. It was 16 days since candidate Lee was selected as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate on the 10th.

President Moon congratulated candidate Lee, saying, "Congratulations on being selected as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate in the party primary," and emphasized, "From my experience, the most important thing seems to be policy. Please discover many good policies."

He added, "If you compete in good faith with other candidates with those policies, the process itself will greatly help national development, and the completed policies will serve as a blueprint for the next government," saying, "This is a request to candidate Lee as well as to other candidates."

Candidate Lee also said, "Our President has really carried out the core values of the Democratic Party so far, such as livelihood, reform, and peace," adding, "As the Governor of Gyeonggi Province and a member of the Moon Jae-in administration, I have done my best so far, and I will continue to do my best to ensure that the Moon administration succeeds and remains a historic government."

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