Kim Jong-min: "Lee Overcomes Detention Risk... An Opportunity to Shed Distrust of the 'Bangtan Party'"

Democratic Party Rep. Kim Jong-min CBS Radio Interview
"I Consider It a Quite Meaningful Judgment"

Amid the rejection of the arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min evaluated, "It is a very meaningful judgment in that it is the first time to see how a decision is made after reviewing records from both sides."

On the 27th, Kim appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "Of course, since this is a decision on the arrest warrant, not a substantive judgment, it is difficult to determine guilt or innocence based on this," but emphasized that it is the first judgment made after reviewing both Lee’s and the prosecution’s records.

Kim said, "The risk of Lee’s arrest has been cleared," adding, "The court saved him from the prosecution’s pressure to politically corner Lee Jae-myung by arresting him at all costs, but it does not mean that there is no need for a trial."

On the 27th, the Seoul Central District Court dismissed the arrest warrant requested by the prosecution following a pre-arrest detention hearing for Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea. Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, is leaving the Seoul Detention Center in Uiwang, Gyeonggi Province on the 27th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

He continued, "Since the trial will ultimately have to debate guilt or innocence on this matter, I believe there remains a task to sincerely engage in that process."

Regarding the court’s decision to reject the warrant and the part about "the charge of perjury coaching being substantiated," Kim explained, "Regardless of whether it is guilty or not, this means that the court sees a need for a trial."

Kim said, "However, I think the claim that there is concern about evidence tampering is somewhat disagreeable," adding, "It seems the court sided with the prosecution on that point, but differed in opinion regarding evidence tampering and arrest."

Kim stated, "Regarding the second issue of Baekhyeon-dong, there is suspicion, but it is difficult to say it is certain enough to restrict the suspect’s right to defense, so it is a matter the suspect should defend against," and "As for the third issue of remittance to North Korea, it does not seem to imply that a trial should not proceed or that it is innocent, but both sides’ claims appear to have room for dispute."

On the Democratic Party leadership’s classification of the approval vote for Lee’s arrest consent as a "corresponding act," Kim criticized, "It was a secret ballot, so demanding to reveal it itself is an act of betraying democracy."

Kim said, "We promised the people to break away from being a shield party, so that we can hold the general election. Because of this, we all resolved together and the party leader also promised the people, so calling that choice a betrayal or a corresponding act is unacceptable."

Kim added, "Rather, the court’s judgment and the neutral institution’s decision after reviewing records from both sides have become a very important opportunity to organize and settle this prolonged fight," and "For Lee Jae-myung and the party, I believe this process has created an opportunity to escape the public distrust that we are running away or carrying judicial risks while being a shield party."

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