Kwon Seong-dong Attacks Yoo Seung-min... "Even If President Yoon's 'Party Convention Rule Statement' Is True, It Is Not Illegal"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, claimed on the 18th that "former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min continues to maliciously distort facts about President Yoon Seok-yeol."

On the same day, Kwon criticized former lawmaker Yoo for his criticism of President Yoon’s remark, reportedly made in private, saying, "Wouldn't it be better if the party member vote was 100%?" via social media (SNS).

Earlier, on the 16th, former lawmaker Yoo commented on the remark, stating, "When President Yoon was a prosecutor, he served as the special prosecutor investigation team leader and sought a 45-year sentence for former President Park Geun-hye. Former President Park received a confirmed 22-year sentence, of which 2 years were due to interference in candidate nominations," adding, "I sternly tell President Yoon that interference in the primary election is a serious illegal act."

Regarding Yoo’s criticism, Kwon said, "Let’s concede ten thousand times and assume the remark was made," and explained, "Under the Political Parties Act, the ‘party representative primary’ is a completely different concept from the ‘intra-party primary’ under the Public Official Election Act. The ‘intra-party primary’ that former lawmaker Yoo elaborately mentioned on broadcasts and SNS applies to the selection of candidates for presidential, general, and local elections." He continued, "Even if the president’s remark is true, expressing a simple opinion related to the party convention in a private setting does not violate any law," adding, "Since it does not involve actions with the intent to promote election or defeat, it does not fall under the definition of ‘electioneering.’"

He said, "If a four-term National Assembly member and former presidential candidate does not understand such basic legal principles and brings up irrelevant examples, it is incompetence; if he knows and still does it, it is despicable."

Kwon criticized former lawmaker Yoo for citing his defeat in the People Power Party’s Gyeonggi Province governor primary during the last local election, saying the reason he keeps losing is "because he is so ignorant and unscrupulous in politics."

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