Lee Jae-myung on Yoon's New Year gathering absence: "First time hearing this"... Ruling party calls it "petty"

Opposition: "Cannot Understand Email Notification"
Ruling Party: "Do They Want Special Treatment?"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is causing controversy by not attending President Yoon Seok-yeol's New Year's greeting event held on the 2nd. While the Democratic Party claimed there was a 'procedural issue' in the government's notification process, the People Power Party sharply criticized this as "petty."

At an emergency press conference following the on-site Supreme Council meeting in Busan on the 2nd, Lee said regarding attendance at the New Year's greeting event, "(The invitation to the New Year's greeting event) is the first time I'm hearing about it," and questioned, "A New Year's greeting event, where many people greet each other, and you say I was invited?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On that day, President Yoon and First Lady Kim Keon-hee held the '2023 New Year's Greeting Event' at the Blue House State Guest House in the morning, exchanging New Year's greetings for the Year of the Rabbit with five high-ranking officials, leaders of political parties and religious groups, and other key national figures, reaffirming their determination for the new year's state affairs management. National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and Justice Party leader Lee Jeong-mi also attended, but Lee, the leader of the main opposition party, was absent.

Regarding this, Cheon Jun-ho, chief secretary to the party leader, explained, "The notification was sent by email, there was no separate request for attendance related to the event, and we had prior engagements, so we could not attend. On the 22nd, an email inviting to the New Year's greeting event was received at the leader's email, and a request came at 2 p.m. asking for a reply by 6 p.m. Since there was a scheduled event today, we replied to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety that attendance was not possible."

He added, "There was no particular reason to avoid it," and said, "What is regrettable is that while inviting the opposition leadership, sending only one email without a phone call as the invitation method is something I personally cannot understand."

On the other hand, Park Jeong-ha, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement that day, "Isn't the Democratic Party's attitude of insisting on 'etiquette' and 'precedent' regarding the president's New Year's greeting event request petty in front of the people?" He criticized, "Even though the same attendance request process was conducted equally for both ruling and opposition parties, they are seeking 'special' treatment and even blaming the presidential office for their excuse of non-attendance."

Meanwhile, when asked about the request to respond separately to the party and (personal investigation), Lee said, "It may differ depending on the judgment of whether it is an attack on the individual or on the party." This is interpreted as implying the need for a party-level response to external attacks related to his investigation.

Regarding questions about whether he will appear before the prosecution, he reiterated his intention to confront directly, saying, "I have already stated that I will attend confidently and cooperate with the investigation, so please take note."

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