Park Yong-jin "Kim Nam-guk's Irresponsible Defection... Is the Party a Revolving Door?"

Democratic Party lawmaker Park Yong-jin raised his voice of criticism against lawmaker Kim Nam-guk, who left the party amid suspicions of tens of billions of won in cryptocurrency, calling it an "irresponsible withdrawal."

On the 15th, Park said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "While saying he loves the party, he left all the burdens to the party and I think it was a withdrawal that pushed the party into a more difficult situation."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He said, "A fact-finding investigation was underway. The public was very curious about the results of that investigation, and since lawmaker Kim was claiming he was innocent, we were expecting a clear explanation to come out through the party's fact-finding investigation. But suddenly, he declared his withdrawal," adding, "By withdrawing himself, he caused the fact-finding investigation itself to stop, and the party that nominated him became a party without any self-purification ability, unable to do anything."

Although lawmaker Kim stated that the reason for his withdrawal was 'not wanting to burden party members and the party,' Park said, "I don't really agree with that, and if that's the case, it would be good if he withdraws and submits all related materials," adding, "And he should clearly state that he will fulfill all his obligations."

This is because the suspicions were not cleared even after hearing the interim report from the fact-finding investigation team. Park said, "There were so many things that made me puzzled while listening to the report at yesterday's party meeting by the fact-finding team," and emphasized, "And without all the materials being properly submitted, whether there was any illegality or not, or whether there was any unfair transaction or lobbying, none of these have been confirmed, and now this has stopped, hasn't it?"

Regarding lawmaker Kim's 'return announcement,' Park said, "He says he loves the party and will come back soon, but the party is not a revolving door where you can go in and out," adding, "Regarding this issue, he should clearly express his intention to fulfill his role and obligations, and as many lawmakers say, the fact-finding investigation should continue."

He said, "I understand that once lawmaker Kim submits his withdrawal letter administratively and legally, his relationship with the party is terminated," adding, "However, the political relationship is not like that. If he says he will come back, the party should show a clear and responsible attitude regarding that."

Park expressed concern, saying, "The really scary thing is not the prosecution's investigation into the Democratic Party," and "but that the Democratic Party is stigmatized by the public as a party that has lost its self-purification ability. Such a party cannot ask for votes in the general election, and such a party can never become the ruling party again."

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