The Democratic Party Strengthens Offensive Seeking Wemade... Opposition Engages in 'Subak Signal Debate'

Yoon Hee-sook "Burying the Soul in the Coin Market"
Yang Yi-won-young "A Witch Hunt-Like Public Trial"

The ruling party's offensive against Representative Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party amid suspicions involving billions in cryptocurrency, is intensifying. The ruling party has formed a 'Coin Gate Task Force (TF)' and visited Wemade, while pressuring Kim to resign by citing the case of former Representative Yoon Hee-sook. The opposition party is struggling with internal conflicts among supporters triggered by the Kim incident.

Former Representative Yoon said on the 19th on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show', "Anyway, this person (Representative Kim Nam-guk) seems to have buried his soul in the coin market," adding, "He should obviously resign."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Representative Yoon resigned from the National Assembly in 2021 when suspicions about his father's farmland arose. Although the allegations were unrelated to him personally, he cleanly stepped down from his position, which is often compared to Kim's handling of the situation. Yoon stated, "Usually, even ordinary people recuse themselves from matters related to themselves. 'I will not participate in this decision due to these circumstances'?this is the usual ethics of working people," adding, "For lawmakers, politicians who make laws and pledges, to lack that level of ethical awareness means, in my opinion, such people should not hold public office."

Choi Hyung-doo, a member of the ruling People Power Party and part of the Coin Gate TF, also mentioned on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' that "Our party's Representative Yoon resigned immediately after his father's real estate investment was revealed, as the mere suspicion caused great damage to the authority of the National Assembly and public trust," contrasting this with Kim's attitude.

Choi and the Coin Gate TF visited Wemade's headquarters in Bundang-gu, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, on the morning of the same day to conduct an on-site investigation and examine the so-called 'profit-sharing community' suspicions. Choi said, "We want to thoroughly investigate whether there is any illegal hotspot or shadow here, whether some with unfair information shared special favors, thereby depriving all innovators and honest investors of their rightful share, reducing market transparency, and increasing uncertainty in this market, causing significant harm to honest investors."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The ruling party appears to be expanding the 'Kim Nam-guk incident' into the 'Democratic Party Coin Gate.' Earlier, Representative Kim Woong of the People Power Party mentioned the 'APP427' coin issued by the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange Association on social media, relaying a witness account that Chairman An Bu-su of the Asia-Pacific Peace Exchange called this coin the 'Lee Jae-myung coin.' Representative Ha Tae-kyung of the People Power Party also raised suspicions, stating, "(The coin Kim invested in) KlayPay was intended for laundering 3.6 billion won," and questioned, "It was during the presidential election period. From whom was the 3.6 billion laundering money received, and to whom was it delivered?"

The Democratic Party seems to still be floundering in the 'Sea of Nam-guk,' as even supporters show signs of internal strife due to the Kim incident. Recently, when Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung was seen eating watermelon at an agricultural field meeting, supporters' communities interpreted this as a 'watermelon purge' signal, sparking controversy. 'Watermelon' is a slang term meaning 'different inside and out,' and the so-called 'Gaeddal'?the fervent supporter faction?has been labeling party members who express differing opinions as watermelons, causing problems. Former Democratic Party emergency committee member Park Ji-hyun expressed concern on social media, saying, "One of the young people being attacked said, 'It seems like someone has to die for this to end,' trembling with fear."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The temperature difference regarding Representative Kim among pro-Lee (Chin-myeong) and anti-Lee (Bi-myeong) lawmakers remains. Yang Yi-won-young, who caused controversy with remarks like "Do progressives have to emphasize morality?" defended Kim on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' saying, "I did not use that exact expression," but added, "When Kim's coin investment was first mentioned, suddenly the 6 billion won issue came up, and there were unconfirmed allegations of insider trading and bribery. Because of these, a witch hunt-like public trial was conducted."

Senior party figures are voicing concerns, calling this an 'internal division.' Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won said on YTN's 'News King Park Ji-hoon,' "Can we be divided into anti-Lee and pro-Lee? The hardline supporters defend Representative Kim and tell those who criticize him to leave the party. Such incidents are leading the Democratic Party toward ruin through internal division."

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