'Choo Mi-ae, Restrain Yourself' United Opposition Voices... "Lee Jae-myung Also Burdened"

Former President Moon Jae-in and former Democratic Party leader Lee Nak-yeon faced pressure to resign following revelations by former Minister of Justice Chu Mi-ae, which heightened internal party tensions, prompting Democratic Party figures to step in for damage control. Jeong Seong-ho, a pro-Moon Democratic Party lawmaker, requested restraint, saying even Lee Jae-myung, the party leader, finds the situation burdensome. Park Ji-won, a senior figure in the party and former National Intelligence Service director, also called for restraint. Meanwhile, members of the pro-Lee Nak-yeon faction criticized the actions, questioning whether they were truly mature behavior.

On the 5th, during SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' Jeong was asked by the host whether Chu's actions were burdensome to Lee's side. He replied, "Of course, they would be burdensome," adding, "The most important thing right now is party unity. We need to overcome the so-called pro-Moon and anti-Moon, pro-Lee and anti-Lee factions and unite for victory in the general election. Constantly digging up the past is not desirable," urging for restraint.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeong's call for Chu's restraint stemmed from concerns that her remarks could deepen factional conflicts within the party and harm unity. Chu's statements targeting former President Moon and former leader Lee have already sparked analysis within the ruling party that she is aligning with Lee Jae-myung's faction. Jeong dismissed this, saying, "How can targeting the former president and the then-party leader Lee be seen as siding with Lee Jae-myung? It actually makes it more burdensome, and even if one wanted to side with him, it would be impossible."

Park Ji-won, a senior party figure, also expressed his views on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' saying, "The greatest reform and innovation for the Democratic Party now is unity and becoming a strong party. With the general election coming up next year, why are such issues causing problems within the party? I hope everyone exercises some restraint," adding, "At this moment, I find it somewhat suspicious that former Minister Chu is making such remarks."

Yoon Young-chan, a pro-Lee Nak-yeon Democratic Party lawmaker, criticized Chu on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs,' saying, "Having served as party leader and Minister of Justice, is it truly mature behavior to subjectively reveal personal grievances related to oneself? There are many critical opinions about this," which can be interpreted as a request for restraint from a senior party member.

Regarding Chu's claims that "media reform legislation was blocked during Lee's leadership in 2020" and that "Lee demanded resignation due to by-elections," Yoon said, "I think these statements are somewhat inaccurate. During Lee's tenure as party leader, significant efforts were made toward media and judicial reform, and the media reform bill was blocked about five to six months after Lee stepped down."

He added, "Regarding the claim that Lee demanded resignation, I would like to confirm whether such a statement was directly made to him. I believe the story that Lee demanded resignation is not true."

The third political camp also did not hold back criticism of Chu's remarks. Yang Hyang-ja, who recently founded the Party of Hope Korea, said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "This is somewhat excessive," adding, "It seems like she is shifting blame for her own incompetence onto the former president and prime minister, so I hope she reflects more carefully."

Park Won-seok, former policy committee chairman of the Justice Party, who is known to be joining the New Party led by former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, also criticized Chu on KBS's The Live the previous day, saying, "If former Minister Chu wants to restart her political career, she needs to shed the burden of being the 'top contributor' to the rise of the Yoon Seok-youl government, but she is placing that blame on the former president," adding, "This is a kind of internal sabotage, and if this continues, it will be a team kill."

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