"Democrats' Full-Scale Defense Against 'Lee Jae-myung Risk,' Ignoring No Woong-rae's Search and Seizure?"

No Woong-rae's Illegal Political Fund Receipt Allegations Met with Lukewarm Opposition Response
Contrasted with Investigations of Kim Yong and Jung Jin-sang... 'Sadanghwa' Controversy Highlighted

No Woong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, held a press conference on the morning of the 17th at the National Assembly Communication Office in Yeouido, Seoul, stating his innocence regarding the prosecution's investigation into him.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] As the prosecution conducted a search and seizure of the residence of No Woong-rae, a four-term senior member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), on suspicion of receiving illegal political funds, there are remarks that the DPK's response shows a different tone compared to the investigation targeting party leader Lee Jae-myung. While the DPK launched an all-out defense at the party level regarding the investigation of Lee’s closest aides, Kim Yong, Deputy Director of the Democratic Research Institute, and Jeong Jin-sang, Director of Political Coordination in the Party Leader’s Secretariat, the party appears passive toward No Woong-rae.

On the 17th, No held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office to proclaim his innocence regarding the prosecution’s search and seizure. The day before, the prosecution searched No’s office in the National Assembly building, his constituency office, and his residence on charges including bribery and violation of the Political Funds Act. The prosecution alleges that No received a total of 60 million won in five installments from businessman Park, who is suspected of providing money and goods to former DPK Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jeong-geun in exchange for various favors.

At the press conference, No stated, "Park and I have never met," and "I will stake my entire political life to prove my innocence," fully denying the allegations. He further claimed that the prosecution’s investigation is a "thoroughly planned opposition suppression scenario" and predicted that the investigation targeting the DPK would expand comprehensively starting with himself.

However, the DPK’s response to the prosecution’s investigation of No has been relatively quiet. Although a spokesperson issued a statement saying, "The prosecution conducted an excessive search and seizure based on the suspect’s testimony," the reaction is lukewarm compared to the party-level protection offered during the investigations of Deputy Director Kim and Director Jeong. No attended the press conference alone and read his statement, with no other fellow lawmakers present. There was no mention of No at the DPK’s press conference held by the Countermeasures Committee Against Prosecution Dictatorship and Political Suppression that day.

No individual lawmakers have made any notable public statements either. On the 18th, Representative Ahn Min-seok appeared on YTN Radio’s "News King with Park Ji-hoon" and said, "They call this a 'prosecution republic.' The ruling and opposition parties are sharply divided over whether to conduct a state audit related to the Itaewon tragedy, and the prosecution has conducted a search and seizure of No’s office. There is only the testimony of the person who allegedly gave the money." However, this was merely a repetition of the spokesperson’s earlier statement, without active defense. Although the investigations of Lee’s aides and No are separate matters, the difference in party-level responses and attitudes toward the party leader and a party member has unintentionally been highlighted due to No’s investigation.

Within the party, the prevailing atmosphere seems to be to first observe the progress of the investigation. Representative Jin Sung-jun said in an interview with BBS Radio’s "Jeon Young-shin’s Morning Journal," "No clearly denied the allegations through a public press conference, saying 'There is no such fact.' He also said he would prove his innocence during the investigation process," and added, "I trust No’s position and hope his innocence will be clearly revealed."

However, dissatisfaction is emerging, especially among the non-mainstream faction, regarding the party’s defense of Lee’s aides at the party level, making it difficult to avoid criticism of "Lee Jae-myung’s party privatization." Political commentator Lee Jong-hoon said, "Regarding No, it seems the DPK’s stance is to respond after monitoring the investigation’s progress. They probably judged that a wrong response could backfire. However, the party actively defended Deputy Director Kim and Director Jeong even though the investigation was not directly targeting Lee. That part was inappropriate and inevitably leads to criticism of party privatization."

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