Woo Sang-ho "20 Incumbent Lawmakers with Money Envelopes? Exaggerated"

"No Pressure to Leave the Party Based on Speculation Without a Proper Investigation"
Mention of 2021 Real Estate Speculation Allegation Precedent

Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said regarding the position of former party leader Song Young-gil, who was embroiled in the 2021 Democratic Party convention money envelope scandal, "It is premature to pressure his position based solely on recordings and various speculations without a proper investigation."

On the morning of the 21st, Woo appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "If illegal facts for which he must take responsibility are confirmed after a fact-finding investigation, responsible measures should follow accordingly," but he also made this remark. This points out that the pressure for Song's resignation from both inside and outside the party is hasty.

He then referred to the precedent when Song Young-gil recommended resignation and expelled lawmakers suspected of real estate speculation during the so-called 'LH scandal' in June 2021. Woo said, "At that time, I told Song Young-gil, 'Even if the damage to the party's reputation seems great, there should be no unfair members. It is harsh to ask them to leave without investigation,'" and explained, "I also did not leave then, and later all 12 were cleared of charges."

Woo added, "Looking back, it has been confirmed that Song Young-gil's demand for expulsion at that time was wrong," and said, "The party should take post-measures after confirming the wrongdoing of its members, and it is not the attitude a political party should take to expel members based only on suspicion and allegations."

Woo Sang-ho, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker. [Photo by Yonhap News]

Regarding the request for Song Young-gil's return to the country, Woo said, "The public is curious about what exactly happened within Song Young-gil's campaign," and explained, "However, since the campaign was disbanded two years ago, it is almost impossible to investigate what happened among its members. Therefore, the conclusion was reached that the only person who can properly conduct this investigation is Song Young-gil himself, which is why his return was requested."

Woo viewed the allegation that "20 incumbent lawmakers received money envelopes" as an exaggerated speculation.

He also said that the so-called 'Lee Jeong-geun recording,' recently disclosed through the media, would not contain the names of incumbent lawmakers. Woo drew a line by saying, "Kang Rae-gu and Lee Jeong-geun were at that time non-incumbent district party chairmen, and the money they raised was allegedly shared by incumbent lawmakers, but the Democratic Party is not that kind of party."

Woo emphasized, "It is roughly understandable that the campaign staff needed money for meals during the convention or that Kang needed funds to help the non-incumbent chairmen's council and then-candidate Song Young-gil," but added, "It is logically impossible to understand that incumbent lawmakers shared funds raised by non-incumbent chairmen. More investigation is needed."

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