Despite Lee Jae-myung's Apology... Ruling Party Faces Continued Criticism for 'Tail-Cutting'

Seong Il-jong "Solve Your Own Problems"
Jeon Ju-hye "Resembles Lee Jae-myung Gate"
Taeyoung Ho "Junk, Money, Sex"
Park Ji-won to the Ruling Party "The Dog with Feces Criticizes the Dog with Mucus"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, apologized on the 17th for the 'money envelope' allegations related to the party's 2021 party convention, but the ruling party is attacking by linking the 'money envelope' allegations to Lee's judicial risks. Tae Young-ho, a Supreme Council member, even used the term 'JMS (Junk, Money, Sex)' targeting the Democratic Party's 'money envelope' allegations.

Seong Il-jong, a member of the People Power Party, said on his social media (SNS) on the same day, "This is a comedy. Is this the time for him to apologize for what others have done?" He added, "It is natural to thoroughly investigate the money envelope allegations related to the party convention, but shouldn't he prioritize resolving his own issues?"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 17th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the same day, before the Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly, Lee said, "Recently, there have been unpleasant allegations reported related to our party's last party convention," and "As the party leader, I deeply apologize to the people for causing concern due to this matter." He also requested the investigative agencies for "a swift and fair investigation excluding political considerations."

In response, Representative Seong raised his voice, saying, "He covers all investigations against himself as political oppression, but when it comes to investigations against others, he asks for 'an investigation excluding political considerations, swift and fair.' Does that make sense?" He continued, "If he trusts the investigative agencies so much, why did he remain silent during the prosecution investigation and then claim political conspiracy and opposition suppression after leaving?"

Jeon Ju-hye, the floor spokesperson, also criticized through a statement, "This party convention gate is too similar to the 'Lee Jae-myung gate,'" and "Considering the multiple protective acts shown for Lee, the Democratic Party will likely claim this gate as opposition suppression and continue with 'self-protection,'" linking the 'money envelope' allegations to Lee's judicial risks.

Supreme Council member Tae went further and posted on his SNS, "Junk Money Sex Democratic Party, indeed JMS Democratic Party." This was aimed at the Democratic Party officials repeatedly involved in sexual misconduct allegations, such as Jeong Jin-sul, a city council member and former aide to Supreme Council member Jeong Cheong-rae, as well as the money envelope allegations. He later deleted the post, seemingly aware of recent 'controversial remarks,' but considering that he previously posted on SNS 'JM's Democratic Party' using Lee's initials JM, the term 'JMS' can also be interpreted as targeting Lee.

On the other hand, former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won highly praised Lee's apology and raised his voice, saying, "The money envelope incident was originally from the ruling party." On his SNS, he said, "The ruling party criticizes this issue with harsh words, but the original case was the money envelope incidents involving former presidential candidate Lee Hoi-chang and Speaker Park Hee-tae. It's like a muddy dog criticizing a dirty dog."

Then, former Director Park said, "President Yoon Seok-youl neither admits mistakes in state affairs nor apologizes, but Lee showed a differentiated and different image to the people," and "Lee's public apology regarding the so-called Democratic Party money envelope incident, former leader Song Young-gil's early return request, and his concluding remarks on cooperating with the prosecution investigation without conducting an internal fact-finding investigation are the best decisions and resolutions."

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