Park Sung-jun "Song Young-gil's Return, a Key to Resolving the Situation"

Park Sung-jun CBS Radio Interview
"Song's Press Conference Seems to Mean No Early Return"
Additional Transcript Shows "No Direct Conversation Between Song Young-gil and Lee Jung-geun"

Song Young-gil, the former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and a key figure in the 2021 Democratic Party convention 'money envelope distribution' scandal, who is currently staying in Paris, France, has announced that he will express his position on the matter. Meanwhile, Park Sung-jun, spokesperson for the Democratic Party of Korea, said, "The implication between the lines is that it does not mean an early return."

On the 19th, Park appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "It is quite difficult for the party to accurately ascertain the facts," adding that the Democratic Party's stance is that Song should return early to resolve the situation.

Song Young-gil, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

He said, "They see Song Young-gil's early return as the most important key to resolving this issue," and added, "That is why Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, apologized and called for a fair investigation by the prosecution."

Park also said, "How many interview calls do you think Song Young-gil is receiving right now?" and added, "So, Song Young-gil holding a press conference can be seen as him facing the situation confidently without avoidance, meeting with reporters to explain his position." He further stated, "Considering the sequence of events, with ongoing investigations by the prosecution and media reports, he will likely state his position first and then later clarify his stance on returning."

Meanwhile, Song has stated that the money envelope distribution allegations were a personal deviation by former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jung-geun, and that he himself is not well aware of the details. However, on the 18th, JTBC released an additional audio recording of a conversation between Kang Rae-gu, chairman of the Korea Audit Association, and former Deputy Secretary-General Lee from April 10, 2021, which suggested circumstances indicating Song’s direct involvement in delivering the money envelopes.

Regarding this, Park said, "It is somewhat doubtful whether there is any direct evidence related to this," and added, "The discussion is based on the audio recordings of Kang Rae-gu and Lee Jung-geun, but there is no content of a direct conversation between former Deputy Secretary-General Lee and Song Young-gil." He continued, "There may be conversations with others, but ultimately, whether a report was made is probably the most decisive factor in proving this relationship," and said, "Direct evidence is the most important, isn't it?"

In addition, concerning calls within the party for Song to voluntarily leave or be expelled, Park said, "The leadership is taking this issue very seriously," and added, "Since this is related to the existence of a political party as a public party, the Democratic Party is considering various ways to handle the matter in the future."

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