Ahn Cheol-soo Targets Lee Jin-bok: "If Nothing Happens, Nothing Will Happen"

KBS Radio Choi Kyung-young's Choi Kang Sisa Interview
"Recording Transcript Makes Next Year's General Election Bleak"

On the 4th, Ahn Cheol-soo, a member of the People Power Party, targeted Lee Jin-bok, the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Presidential Office, regarding the 'Tae Young-ho recording' scandal, saying, "If he does nothing himself, nothing will happen, so it is truly worrisome that he talks to others."

This appears to be a retort aimed at Lee's comment during the People Power Party convention on February 8, when he told Ahn, then a candidate for party leader, "If you say nothing, nothing will happen."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In an interview on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs' that day, Ahn said, "(Regarding Lee) such things should not happen," emphasizing, "This itself is a violation of the Constitution. Former President Park Geun-hye actually received a Supreme Court prison sentence because of this (interference in candidate selection)."

Ahn explained, "I spoke about (interference in party affairs) at that time," but added, "The reason I did not react strongly was because party members had many wounds from the previous party leader, so I understood that they were worried and concerned about a new party leader getting entangled in conflicts with Yongsan (the Presidential Office)."

Regarding reports that the party's Ethics Committee has begun disciplinary discussions on Supreme Council members Kim Jae-won and Tae Young-ho, Ahn said, "The two cases are somewhat different," but added, "Council member Kim gave the public the impression that the party is being manipulated by certain forces, which had a very negative impact, and Council member Tae suggested the possibility that the Presidential Office could interfere in the party's candidate selection."

He continued, "In any case, both ultimately caused the party to lose the public's trust, lowered the party's approval ratings, and made next year's general election outlook very bleak," emphasizing, "They must be held firmly accountable."

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