Na Kyung-won: "Did I block legislation with a crowbar? A blatant lie... I will sue Park Yong-jin"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won announced on the 18th her intention to take legal action regarding remarks made by Park Yong-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Park's claim that Na, who was the floor leader of the Liberty Korea Party in 2019, blocked legislation by wielding a crowbar (known as "pparu") during the election law vote is false.

Na stated on social media the previous day, "In several recent interviews, Park repeatedly mentioned that I held a pparu and blocked all legislation, and that our party suffered a devastating defeat in the general election due to such hardline tactics," adding, "(The claim that I held a pparu) is a blatant lie."

He explained, "The Democratic Party forcibly carried out unprecedented illegal substitutions twice a day with minor parties such as the Justice Party, the Party for Democracy and Peace, and the Bareunmirae Party faction led by Kim Kwan-young to pass the Corruption Investigation Office Act and the election law for a mixed-member proportional representation system," and said, "In April 2019, our party had no choice but to resist and was guarding the front and inside of the bill."

Na clarified, "It was the security guards and Democratic Party aides who appeared holding the crowbar (pparu)," and added, "Our party took the pparu away, and the next morning, party officials showed me the confiscated pparu and asked me to hold it once, after which I explained the whole situation."

He continued, "The Democratic Party was fully aware of this," and said, "Some Democratic Party supporters distorted the photo of me holding the pparu and began to spread misinformation online as if I had used violence by wielding the pparu."

Na also explained that the incident did not cause a collapse in the Liberty Korea Party's approval ratings. He said, "According to various polls, from December 11, 2018, when I was elected floor leader, until December 9, 2019, when my successor was newly elected, our party's approval ratings showed a gradual upward trend," adding, "Right after the Fast-Track clash and during the protests for Cho Kuk's resignation, the party's approval ratings actually peaked, reaching 34.3% according to Realmeter polls."

He concluded, "Allowing the spread of false information any longer is not only unhelpful to healthy politics but can also distort the political process, so I have decided to respond strongly," and stated, "Stop spreading false information that damages my reputation immediately and apologize. If a sincere apology is made, I am willing to withdraw the charges."

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