Ruling and Opposition Parties' Heated Dispute Over Access to 'Lee Investigation and Yoon's Real Estate Data'

Democratic Party Confirms Yoon's Vision Data in Legislation Committee... "Rubber Band Vision"
People Power Party: "Lee's Investigation Data Is Not the Data We Requested"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Ki-min Lee] Members of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee (LJC) from both ruling and opposition parties reviewed the investigation records of Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate, and materials related to amblyopia of Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, together on the 3rd.

The Democratic Party stated, "The eyesight indicated on the military service medical certificate received in 1982 is highly likely to have been fraudulently issued to avoid military service," and demanded verification from candidate Yoon. Regarding candidate Lee's investigation records, there were a total of six cases, including four criminal records, one acquittal, and records related to the ongoing investigation of Seongnam FC. The People Power Party responded that "this is not the data we wanted," but the Democratic Party rebutted, saying, "The opposition party members' imagination is not the truth."

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Ju-min and People Power Party lawmaker Jeon Ju-hye met at 2 p.m. in the LJC chairman's office in the National Assembly main building to review the materials provided by the Ministry of Justice and the National Police Agency.

Initially, both parties attempted to review the materials the day before, but the National Police Agency refused to disclose candidate Lee's investigation records without his consent, as requested by the Ministry of Justice, and thus the materials were not secured. Previously, on the 25th of last month, the LJC had resolved in a plenary session to request the Ministry of Justice to submit investigation records on candidate Lee and amblyopia-related materials on candidate Yoon.

Lawmaker Jeon told reporters about the materials, "It was confirmed that there are four cases of fines, one acquittal, and one ongoing investigation related to a special bribery case," but added, "The format of candidate Lee's investigation records is not what we expected. What the People Power Party requested was not criminal records but separate investigation records, but this was confirmed to be something candidate Lee himself applied for and received." This implies that investigation records related to suspicions of juvenile delinquency involving candidate Lee were not included.

In response, lawmaker Park argued, "This is exactly the data the opposition wanted. The police said they could not submit it voluntarily due to legal reasons, so it was printed with candidate Lee's consent. From the moment it was printed, the police explained that the recipient was a professional committee member of the LJC. It was sealed immediately and brought here, so it is not different data."

Regarding candidate Yoon's eyesight test results at his appointment as a prosecutor in 1994 and reappointment in 2002, it was confirmed that the visual acuity difference between both eyes was only 0.2 and 0.3. Lawmaker Park told reporters, "The physical examination report submitted in 1994 was from Boramae Hospital, showing left eye 0.7 and right eye 0.5. The materials submitted at the time of reappointment in 2002 were from Gangnam Hospital, showing left eye 0.9 and right eye 0.6," adding, "These figures match the eyesight numbers recently disclosed by some of our party members who received tips." There is suspicion that although candidate Yoon was exempted from military service due to amblyopia, his eyesight returned to normal levels at the time of his appointment as a prosecutor.

In response, lawmaker Jeon emphasized, "Regarding candidate Yoon's physical examination records, only eyesight tests were conducted at that time. Amblyopia requires not only eyesight tests but also refractive error tests. However, refractive error data was not included in the materials received today." The People Power Party stated that it is unreasonable to raise objections now after having no issues when they appointed candidate Yoon as Prosecutor General, in response to the ruling party's allegations about amblyopia.

Furthermore, the People Power Party stated, "The allegations about candidate Yoon's amblyopia based solely on simple eyesight tests without refractive error tests are ultimately groundless," and added, "Thanks to the Democratic Party, the controversy over candidate Yoon's military exemption due to amblyopia has been clearly resolved." They also claimed, "Whether the Democratic Party is grasping at straws or knowingly creating unnecessary suspicions, their behavior is a petty and irresponsible allegation tactic."

In particular, People Power Party members of the LJC held a press conference at the National Assembly, stating, "Candidate Yoon underwent cycloplegic refraction tests using an automatic refractometer, which is recognized by everyone as an accurate eye examination," and urged, "No matter how bleak the presidential election looks for the Democratic Party, we hope they stop making embarrassing declarations that ignore medical results." They also counterattacked, saying, "Candidate Lee claims he was exempted from military service due to an injury to his left arm during his youth working at a press, but his usual behavior shows he supports himself with his left hand, windsurfs, and holds a fishing rod with his left hand," and added, "We should ask how his arm got so much better that he could be exempted from military service."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party held a press conference immediately after the ruling and opposition LJC members reviewed the materials, demanding, "If candidate Yoon is confident, he should verify it himself." Woo Sang-ho, head of the Democratic Party's presidential campaign headquarters, said, "Once a person has amblyopia, their eyesight can never improve. Multiple ophthalmologists have confirmed that if it were a treatable condition, it would not qualify for military exemption," and questioned, "Why did someone who had amblyopia when he was supposed to serve in the military have normal eyesight at the time of his appointment as a prosecutor?" He continued, "If candidate Yoon wants to clear up public suspicion, he should undergo an eye examination by a fair third-party medical institution to confirm whether he has amblyopia or not," and warned, "If he avoids this test, we can only conclude that his eyes are normal and he is evading the examination."

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