Prosecutor Appearance 'Direct Confrontation' by Lee Jae-myung... Opposition's Full Defense vs Ruling Party's "North Korea Bribery Case"

Lee Jae-myung Scheduled to Appear Before Prosecution on 28th
Mixed Reactions to 'Solo Appearance' Including Sympathy and Praise
Ruling Party Launches Offensive Citing Additional Allegations

[Asia Economy reporters Naju-seok, Park Joon-yi, Geum Bo-ryeong] After Lee Jae-myung declared a direct breakthrough against the prosecution's summons demand, the Democratic Party of Korea launched an all-out defense posture. With Lee taking a direct response, the party appears to be aiming for a reversal in public opinion while also tightening internal discipline. The People Power Party is intensifying pressure by adding recent controversial suspicions related to Ssangbangwool to the Daejang-dong allegations.

On the 19th, Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the policy coordination meeting, "If Representative Lee had not been a fierce competitor against the current president, who is a former prosecutor, in the last presidential election, and if he were not the current party leader of the opposition Democratic Party holding a majority in the National Assembly, would the Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution have acted so ruthlessly?" He strongly criticized the prosecution's investigation of Lee. Park added, "The purpose of Yoon Seok-yeol's prosecution is clearly 'eliminating political opponents,' nothing more and nothing less," and appealed, "I believe our citizens and party members will unite their hearts so that Representative Lee, who boldly steps forward alone, can calmly overcome this unjust oppression."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee, who had been summoned by the prosecution regarding the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town development suspicions, announced the day before that he would comply with the prosecution's summons on the 28th. Unlike when he appeared before the prosecution over the Seongnam FC sponsorship allegations, where the Democratic Party leadership and many lawmakers showed up in large numbers, this time he expressed his intention to appear with only his lawyer.

Despite internal party objections urging him not to comply with the prosecution's summons, reactions within the party ranged from sympathy to approval of his decision. Cho Eung-cheon, a Democratic Party lawmaker who had stated that the party should respond separately to Lee's judicial risks, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "It is a very good decision. That is a dignified stance," adding, "Although protests and hardships will be faced from the opposing side, that image will rather make people feel the sincerity of Representative Lee's claims." Park Chan-dae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' program, "I want to go with him (to Lee's appearance)," and added, "No matter how confidently he goes in, it feels like entering a wolf pack, so I feel very sorry."

Regarding the criticism within the party calling for Lee's resignation, Park said, "It is a very small minority opinion," and added, "If you count the number of people making different voices, you can quickly see whether it is a minority or majority." Jeong Seong-ho, a Democratic Party lawmaker known as the leader of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction, said on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' that regarding the party's call for separate responses to Lee's judicial risks, "It is impossible to separate the party and Lee Jae-myung as an individual."

The People Power Party has escalated suspicions related to Ssangbangwool in addition to the Daejang-dong allegations. Jeong Jin-seok, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, said at an emergency committee meeting held at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju, "We must thoroughly investigate the entire illegal North Korea remittance case conspired between Lee Jae-myung's Gyeonggi Province and former Ssangbangwool chairman Kim Seong-tae," and criticized, "This is an act of treason that directly violates the UN Security Council's North Korea sanctions."

The expressions became even harsher. Chairman Jeong said, "Lee Jae-myung's Gyeonggi Province and former chairman Kim bribed Kim Yong-chol, the former head of the United Front Department and the main culprit of the Cheonan sinking terror," and emphasized, "This is a crime equivalent to a U.S. presidential candidate providing slush funds to Osama bin Laden. Under current law, it corresponds to treason." He added, "Representative Lee is holding the National Assembly hostage and mocking the prosecution and the judicial system of the Republic of Korea every day," and said, "The prosecution and judicial authorities must root out this act of national treason of handing over bundles of dollars to the mastermind of the Cheonan terror. The public will not tolerate this act of treason, which is on a different level from local power's endemic corruption."

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