Right Now Wrong, Then Right? ... A Batch of Past Opposition Party Statements Summoned

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As the investigation targeting Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, regarding presidential election funds gains momentum, past remarks by key Democratic Party figures about the 'Daejang-dong special prosecutor' and 'party headquarters search and seizure' are drawing attention. Just a year ago, the Democratic Party opposed the Daejang-dong special prosecutor and maintained that the search and seizure of the party headquarters was 'justified.'

Lee Jae-myung: "Special prosecutor is a tactic of the deep-rooted corrupt forces" - September 2021

On the 21st, Kim Woong, a member of the People Power Party, shared a screenshot of an article related to Lee Jae-myung's proposal for a Daejang-dong special prosecutor on his social network service (SNS), sarcastically stating, "Lee Jae-myung of September 2021 scolds Lee Jae-myung of October 2022." Another screenshot he shared included Lee, then governor of Gyeonggi Province, saying, "Dragging out the special prosecutor investigation is a tactic used by the deep-rooted corrupt forces."

Park Soo-young, also from the same party, went further by posting a photo comparing Lee’s statements from his time as governor and his current remarks, commenting, "Lee Jae-myung vs. Lee Jae-myung, the one demanding the special prosecutor is the culprit vs. demands the Daejang-dong special prosecutor."

On the same day, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, rejected Lee’s special prosecutor proposal at a National Assembly press conference, saying, "Last September, then-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung said, 'Dragging out the special prosecutor investigation is a tactic used by the deep-rooted corrupt forces.' It seems this statement is exactly right."

Yoon Ho-jung: "Obstructing the execution of a warrant by force is a clear illegal act" - September 2021

One year ago, opposition party members who physically blocked the search and seizure at the party’s Democratic Research Institute and claimed it was 'political oppression' were also brought up. On the 20th, Kim Woong shared on his SNS, with the hashtag '#karma,' statements from the Democratic Party leadership during the high-ranking officials’ crime investigation agency’s search and seizure of Kim’s office a year ago.

At that time, Song Young-gil, then leader of the Democratic Party, said, "Criticizing the search and seizure of Kim Woong, the core suspect, by the high-ranking officials’ crime investigation agency is self-contradictory and hypocritical," adding, "Is the People Power Party’s act of illegally obstructing the execution of a court-issued warrant a denial of the rule of law?" Kim annotated this statement by putting parentheses around 'Kim Woong' and clarifying it as 'Kim Woong,' and next to 'high-ranking officials’ crime investigation agency,' he wrote 'prosecutors,' and next to 'People Power Party,' he wrote 'Democratic Party.' This implies that past Democratic Party statements can be applied as criticism of the current Democratic Party.

Additionally, Yoon Ho-jung, then floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "In the face of clear evidence, they are attempting to stall and divert the issue. Obstructing the execution of a warrant by force is a clear illegal act," and added, "The opposition party’s barricade against the warrant execution that blocks the truth, please remove it now."

Lee Jae-myung: "If clearing out deep-rooted corruption and injustice is political retaliation, then it can be done every day" - July 2017

Lee’s labeling of the investigation against him as 'political retaliation' has brought renewed attention to his remarks from five years ago. On the 20th, Kim Ki-hyun of the People Power Party referenced Lee’s 2017 statement, "Catching thieves may seem like retaliation to the thieves, but to me, it is not retaliation but the realization of justice and common sense. If clearing out deep-rooted corruption and injustice is 'political retaliation,' then such political retaliation can be done every day."

At the time, Lee, then mayor of Seongnam, had criticized Hong Joon-pyo, then leader of the Liberty Korea Party, who called the disclosure of the Park Geun-hye administration’s Blue House cabinet documents a 'political retaliation show.' Kim shared this statement, pointing out Lee as a 'double standard Lee Jae-myung.'

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