Lee Jae-myung "Oppressed under Moon Administration," Song Young-gil Claims... Yoon Young-chan "Stunned"

Yoon Young-chan "President Moon Is Not That Tempered" Pushback
Song Young-gil Emphasizes Differences Between Lee and Moon Governments
"Talking About Regime Change... Now Even the Democratic Party Leader Is Song Young-gil"

Song Young-gil, Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Ju-hyung] Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, sparked controversy by emphasizing the differences between presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and the current government, claiming, "Candidate Lee is someone who was oppressed under the Moon Jae-in administration."

Yoon Young-chan, a Democratic Party lawmaker who served as the Blue House's Chief of Public Communication, stated on his Facebook on the 11th, "Leader Song Young-gil's remark that candidate Lee Jae-myung was oppressed under the Moon Jae-in government is shocking."

Yoon said, "I don't understand how such divisive remarks help the election," and emphasized, "I also served President Moon, and the President is not the type to oppress anyone."

He continued, "Even when he is having a hard time, he endures for the sake of the whole," adding, "This is completely inconsistent with the facts and does not help the Democratic Party's victory."

Earlier, on the same day, Song appeared on MBC's 'News Outside' and said about candidate Lee, "Did he serve as a minister or a member of the National Assembly under the Moon administration?" and "Wasn't he almost prosecuted to death?" referring to the time when Lee, who served as governor of Gyeonggi Province in 2018, was prosecuted and tried on allegations such as the so-called 'forced hospitalization of his elder brother' and violations of the Public Official Election Act. He then claimed, "(Candidate Lee) was someone oppressed under the Moon administration."

Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party, is answering questions from panelists at the Korea Journalists Association invitation debate held at the Korea Press Center in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the afternoon of the 11th. / Photo by Yonhap News

Meanwhile, some view Song's emphasis on the distinction between the current government and candidate Lee as an attempt to propose unification with Ahn Cheol-soo, the presidential candidate of the People’s Party.

On the broadcast that day, Song said, "Candidate Ahn insists on regime change unconditionally, but the Democratic Party leader has changed to Song Young-gil," and emphasized, "President Moon is not running again in this election, so relying on regime change or emotional retaliation is not helpful for national development."

He then criticized, "Candidate Ahn is unlikely to be an alternative for regime change. The presidential election is not about choosing a personal idea. You cannot lead the National Assembly with a mini-party of three lawmakers," referring to the People’s Party’s current three seats in the National Assembly, all proportional representatives without any district lawmakers.

Song added, "The constitutional system of the Republic of Korea is structured so that the National Assembly and the Blue House president are the two main pillars of governance." He further said, "The science and technology powerhouse Korea that candidate Ahn advocates is difficult to find common ground with candidate Yoon Seok-youl, who has been a lifelong prosecutor," and added, "Candidate Lee said that if he becomes president, he will create a proper unified government and adopt excellent policies regardless of their origin. He announced that he would greatly accept candidate Ahn’s science and technology powerhouse policies and establish the position of Deputy Prime Minister for Science and Technology."

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