Lee Jae-myung to Yoon Seok-yeol: "No Need for Incompetent Avenger... Apologize to the People"

"First Presidential Candidate in History to Declare Political Retaliation"
Yoon Seok-yeol "Emphasized Unrestricted Investigation Based on Law and Principles"

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, urged Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party presidential candidate, to apologize.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea, demanded that Yoon Seok-yeol, the presidential candidate of the People Power Party, who mentioned the "investigation of the previous administration's deep-rooted evils," "apologize to the public," saying, "Now is the time to focus on overcoming the crisis and economic recovery, not political revenge."

Earlier, in an interview with JoongAng Ilbo released the previous day, Yoon said in response to the question, "Will you investigate the deep-rooted evils of the previous administration if you come to power?" "Yes, yes. It must be done," adding, "However, the president will not interfere with the investigation." Regarding concerns that the investigation of the previous government might turn into political revenge, he emphasized principles, saying, "Everything is done according to the system," and explained, "Prosecutorial investigations proceed under the checks and controls of the judiciary and follow legal procedures."

In response, Lee posted on his Facebook on the 10th, criticizing, "A presidential candidate who declares political revenge is the first in constitutional history."

Lee pointed out, "The incompetence and personal grudges of a leader are sins against the people," and said, "Now is the time to unite efforts not for revenge and division but to overcome the crisis and revive the people's economy. What Korea needs now is not an incompetent avenger but a unifying president strong in crisis and a competent economic president." He added, "This is the process of verifying the president's qualifications and abilities," and criticized, "Whether it means there were deep-rooted evils that the prosecution, as the person responsible, turned a blind eye to, or that they intend to fabricate nonexistent evils, both are serious problems and an insult to the people."

Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate, posted on his Facebook on the 10th criticizing Yoon Seok-yeol, the People Power Party presidential candidate, who referred to the "investigation of the previous administration's deep-rooted evils."
[Photo by Lee Jae-myung Facebook capture]

As the controversy grew, Yoon explained that he emphasized "principles." After attending the New Year's meeting of the Jeollabuk-do Residents Association in Seoul that afternoon, he told reporters, "Our President Moon Jae-in has always emphasized investigations without sanctuary according to law and principles," and added, "I have also always said that power-related corruption and bribery must be dealt with according to law, principles, and a fair system. That has not changed at all from when I was in the prosecution, started politics, until today."

When asked, "What are the representative deep-rooted evils of the Moon Jae-in administration?" he refrained from answering, saying, "It is better not to talk about that today."

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