Lee Jae-myung's Statement from 5 Years Ago Revived by Ruling Party... "Is the Democratic Party Headquarters a Modern-Day Cattle Shed?"

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] On the 19th, as the Democratic Party of Korea defined the attempt to search the Democratic Research Institute within the party headquarters as 'political oppression' and launched an all-out battle, ruling party lawmakers criticized this by referring to statements made by Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, five years ago.

On the 20th, Yoon Sang-hyun, a member of the People Power Party, wrote on his social network service (SNS), "During the 2017 special prosecutor's search of the Blue House, Lee Jae-myung, then mayor of Seongnam, criticized the Blue House's refusal of the search, saying, 'The special prosecutor should hold those who refuse the search accountable and demand punishment for obstruction of official duties,'" indirectly criticizing the Democratic Party's double standards.

Yoon said, "In an era when prosecution search boxes storm into even the Blue House's inner chambers without exception, it is anachronistic for opposition party lawmakers to surround their party headquarters like an inviolable sanctuary," adding, "The essence of this is nothing more than obstruction of official duties that hinders legitimate law enforcement."

He continued, "Moreover, a Democratic Party lawmaker who is a former prosecutor openly confessed, saying, 'Even if you go now, everything has been cleared. The search is pointless,' thereby admitting that they are a shield for evidence destruction," and pointed out, "As Lee Jae-myung said in the past, the prosecution should hold those who refuse the search accountable and punish them for obstruction of official duties."

Jo Soo-jin, a member of the same party's Judiciary Committee, also shared an article on her SNS containing Lee's response to the Blue House's refusal of the special prosecutor's search in 2017. On the same day, during a procedural speech at the Judiciary Committee, Jo pointed out, "The target of the search is not the Democratic Party headquarters but Kim Yong (Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute)'s personal office," adding, "If Kim, whom Lee himself described as a 'part of himself,' was not privately hired as the deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, there would be no reason for the prosecution to go to the Democratic Party headquarters."

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