Park Jumin, on Opposition Lawmakers' Concerns of Targeted Investigation: "Politics Named 'Investigation'... Will Firmly Resist"

Democratic Party Representative Candidate Park Ju-min
"Will Firmly Resist Political Investigations"

Park Jumin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is declaring his candidacy for the party leader election at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 8th. Photo by Yoon Dongju doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Koo Chae-eun] Park Joo-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who announced his candidacy for the party leader on August 28, said, "Looking at the recent flow of case assignments, I definitely got the feeling that the prosecution has reorganized its stance."

On the 11th, Park appeared on MBC Radio's Kim Jong-bae's Focus and said, "That is nothing but politics under the name of 'investigation,' and isn't it rather damaging to democracy?" He added, "I will firmly oppose political investigations."

In fact, starting with the severe disciplinary action against Lee Jun-seok, there is a sense of unease within the Democratic Party regarding the prosecution's investigations. This is not only about the allegations of sexual bribery against Lee but also because the Yoon Seok-yeol administration has begun a full-scale purge targeting power institutions such as the National Intelligence Service, prosecution, police, and Board of Audit and Inspection. The next targets could be opposition politicians.

Recently, based on its own investigation, the National Intelligence Service filed complaints against former director Park Jie-won and others for allegedly deleting intelligence-related reports without authorization concerning the shooting incident of government officials in the West Sea. The police are investigating allegations involving Lee Jae-myung, a Democratic Party lawmaker, including the 'illegal fundraising for Seongnam FC' and 'special favors in Baekhyeon-dong development.' The Democratic Party strongly criticizes this as "political retaliation" and has announced it will respond through internal committees such as the Political Retaliation Investigation Countermeasures Committee.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park also said, "(The Democratic Party) always conducted opinion polls before elections, acting favorably when the results were good and unfavorably when they were not, giving a somewhat drifting impression," adding, "In that regard, it needs to change to take root in values and expand its scope."

Park said, "When the Democratic Party was the ruling party, it often felt like a party driven by opinion polls." He especially noted, "The party has transitioned from the ruling party to the opposition, and it seems there is still confusion in finding its role in that situation," adding, "I think we need to move quickly to become an umbrella for the people."

Regarding being grouped with Kang Byung-won, Kang Hoon-sik, and Park Yong-jin as the '97 Group' (those who entered university in the 1990s and were born in the 1970s), he said, "I have thoughts and concerns about whether this is a meaningful classification." He explained, "They were divided based on age and university entrance year, but the four mentioned have different backgrounds and political paths. Naturally, their thoughts differ as a result. So, forcibly grouping them and forcibly saying that this group represents generational change? I have some concerns about whether that is correct."

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