Controversy Over Ruling Party's Interference in Party Affairs Ignited by 'Taeyoungho-Lee Jinbok' Recording

Taeyoungho "Contains exaggeration... No mention of nomination"
"Political Secretary threatened with nomination", "Criticism of party interference"

Lee Jin-bok, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office, is facing controversy over alleged interference in party affairs after reports emerged that he told Tae Young-ho, a Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, "If you make statements defending Korea-Japan relations, you don't need to worry about party nominations." Both Lee and Tae have denied discussing anything related to nominations.

Earlier, MBC released a transcript of a conversation from a staff meeting held by Supreme Council member Tae on the 9th of last month. According to the report, Tae said in the transcript, "(Senior Secretary Lee) said, 'You say you're worried about nomination issues, but as long as you hold the microphone while you're a Supreme Council member and use it well, reporting to the President regularly about what you did today, you don't need to worry about nominations at all.'"

After the report was published, Supreme Council member Tae expressed strong regret on Facebook over the leak of the internal staff meeting transcript, stating, "Senior Secretary Lee never mentioned Korea-Japan relations or nomination issues during our meeting."

Tae further emphasized, "My remarks in the transcript were exaggerated comments made to reassure staff worried about nominations after the party convention and to encourage them to focus on policy-centered legislative activities."

Senior Secretary Lee denied the allegations, saying, "I have never had such a conversation." He told reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office on the morning of the 2nd, "If asked for my opinion, I can respond, but I am not in a position to decide or grant nominations. We never had such discussions." He added, "Tae called and apologized to the staff, saying he might have exaggerated while explaining."

Tae Young-ho, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The controversy over the Presidential Office's interference in party affairs is spreading in political circles. Similar issues arose during the last party convention when Kim Ki-hyun, then a candidate for party leader, said he would "consult with the President about nominations."

Former People Power Party lawmaker Yoo Seung-min criticized the situation by referring to former President Park Geun-hye's interference in nominations. Yoo said on Facebook on the 1st, "I have repeatedly warned about the possibility of illegal nomination interference since the People Power Party became a personal party of President Yoon Seok-yeol." He added, "If true, it means the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office threatened a sitting lawmaker and Supreme Council member of the ruling party with nominations to act as a henchman for Yongsan."

Yoo continued, "Former President Park was sentenced to two years in prison for illegal nomination interference during the 2016 general election, and the person who led the investigation at the prosecution was President Yoon himself." He stressed, "The prosecution and police have an obligation to promptly and fairly investigate whether the reported incident constitutes illegal nomination interference by the Presidential Office, which is prohibited under Article 9, Paragraph 2 of the Public Official Election Act."

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Han-gyu also criticized it as "interference in party affairs by the Presidential Office." On MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Kim said, "Of course, we consult between the party and government, but I never imagined that Supreme Council members would be specifically asked to make statements defending the President." He added, "While discussions about explaining or strongly responding to opposition party attacks are possible, talking about nominations in 2023 felt very surprising."

Currently, the People Power Party is withholding comments regarding the transcript report. Yoo Sang-beom, the party's chief spokesperson, said on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "There is no way to verify the authenticity of the content, and both parties deny discussing nominations, so it is inappropriate for the party to take a stance or respond." Regarding the leak of the transcript, he added, "I have a rough idea of the situation, but it is inappropriate to discuss unconfirmed information as if explaining an investigation."

People Power Party lawmaker Ha Tae-kyung also said on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' "Both (Tae and Lee) are denying it, and I have no evidence to refute their denial, so I have nothing more to say on the matter."

However, Ha predicted that the disciplinary process against Supreme Council member Tae for his controversial remarks, initiated by the party's Ethics Committee, would worsen the situation. He said, "The responsibility for poor management, including the leak of the transcript, lies with Tae Young-ho's office itself, and since the disciplinary review has started, it will inevitably have a negative impact."

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