Criticism Pours In on Youths Who Criticized Kim Nam-guk... Lee Won-wook Says "Attack Me Instead"

As attacks from opposition party supporters intensified against eight young Democratic Party politicians who criticized Kim Nam-guk, a Democratic Party lawmaker who left the party amid suspicions of billions in cryptocurrency, three-term lawmaker Lee Won-wook of the Democratic Party requested restraint, saying, "Rather attack me."

Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is questioning and debating at the plenary committee meeting for the review of the resolution on the improvement of the parliamentary election system during the 4th session of the 405th National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 15th, Lee posted on his social media (SNS), "I hope the attacks on the youth will stop," expressing this sentiment.

He said, "The young members of the Democratic Party demanded party reform. However, attacks such as 'subak' directed at the eight youths are intensifying," adding, "Even the university committee chairperson who criticized Representative Kim by mentioning his cryptocurrency trading suspicions is being attacked."

The term 'subak' refers to someone who is different inside and out, commonly used to describe critical factions within the Democratic Party. Lee pointed out, "After the press conference criticizing Representative Kim's cryptocurrency suspicions, they have been flooded with criticism," stating, "If you criticize, you are condemned. They condemn and attack. They say it is 'internal betrayal' and tell them to shut up."

He continued, "Internal betrayal means threatening with abusive, insulting, and mocking words against criticism born out of affection for the party," adding, "That is why the self-deprecating complaint 'Democratic Party without democracy' arises, and external criticism emerges."

The young politicians should be able to confidently express their positions within the party. Lee said, "Youth are not accessories of the party," emphasizing, "The University Committee is an organization that can boldly announce its stance. It is not simply a group that must line up with the party leadership."

He added, "In the last presidential election, the People Power Party allowed youth to speak up, accepted it, and ultimately won," stating, "If the Democratic Party talks about the future generation in all policies but tries to suppress the voices of the future generation within the party, it shows a contradictory attitude of inconsistency between words and actions. I will stand with the youth."

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