Democrats Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Sung-man Resign Amid 'Money Envelope' Allegations: "Putting Party Before Self..."

Legal Dispute with Prosecution Anticipated
Personal Remarks Planned at 3 PM General Assembly

The controversy over the "party convention money envelopes" has led to lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Sung-man deciding to leave the Democratic Party of Korea.

After meeting with the Democratic Party leadership on the 3rd, Lawmakers Yoon and Lee informed reporters of their decision to leave the party.

Lawmaker Yoon said, "I just had a meeting with the party leader and the leadership. I sincerely apologize for causing much trouble to the party and worry to the public due to various issues. Although I have much to say about the facts, I will sincerely cooperate with the investigation and process to clarify this matter." He added, "Starting today, with a spirit of putting the party first, I have decided to leave the Democratic Party. I will address the remaining issues later."

Yoon Kwan-seok (left) and Lee Sung-man, lawmakers accused of involvement in the money envelope scandal at the party convention, are attending the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 27th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lawmaker Lee also said, "I sincerely apologize to the public, my constituents, and the party for causing such controversy. With a spirit of putting the party first, I will leave the party together with Lawmaker Yoon and do my best to reveal the truth through legal battles." He added, "I have been in discussions with the party, and I believe one of the causes of this incident was partly a political offensive by the prosecution."

According to media reports, during the 2021 Democratic Party convention, the two lawmakers are suspected of distributing money envelopes to lawmakers along with former Democratic Party Deputy Secretary-General Lee Jung-geun and former Korea Water Resources Corporation Audit Committee member Kang Rae-gu. According to contents in phone recordings of former Deputy Secretary-General Lee, the two lawmakers were reportedly responsible for distributing money envelopes during the convention process.

Song Young-gil, the Democratic Party leader who won the convention at that time, recently returned from France and is currently engaged in a legal battle with the prosecution.

The two lawmakers plan to make personal statements regarding their departure and future plans at the Democratic Party’s general meeting this afternoon. They are expected to proceed with the formal withdrawal process afterward.

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