Jung Woo-taek Apologized, but... Lee Jae-myung Sued for False Information Disclosure

People Power Party Files Complaint with Police

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was sued after incorrectly mentioning the nomination case of Jeong Woo-taek, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly from the People Power Party, while criticizing the party's nomination process. The People Power Party demanded an apology to the party leadership and measures to prevent recurrence, rather than an apology to Deputy Speaker Jeong.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is presiding over the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 6th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

At the Democratic Party's Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 6th, Lee said, "Candidate Jeong Woo-taek received a single nomination, but wasn't there CCTV footage showing the exchange of money envelopes?" He criticized, "The People Power Party shamelessly gives a single nomination to a candidate who doesn't even qualify for screening because of money envelopes."

However, Deputy Speaker Jeong won the nomination through a primary election against former high prosecutor Yoon Gap-geun in Cheongju Sangdang, Chungbuk, not by a single nomination.

Realizing the factual error later that day, Lee posted on Facebook, "I apologize to Candidate Jeong Woo-taek of the People Power Party." He stated, "I was unaware that Candidate Jeong became the nominee through a primary and mistakenly believed he was given a single nomination. I sincerely apologize for my erroneous statement that Candidate Jeong was single-nominated."

In response, Jang Dong-hyuk, Secretary-General of the People Power Party, said in a statement, "The target of Leader Lee's false defamation was the People Power Party and its nomination system, so we demand an apology to the People Power Party and a promise to prevent recurrence."

Deputy Speaker Jeong filed a complaint with the Yeongdeungpo Police Station in Seoul around 6 p.m. the same day, accusing Lee of false statement publication under the Public Official Election Act related to his remarks.

Jeong's side stated, "By publicizing the distorted fact that Candidate Jeong, who was selected as the National Assembly candidate for Cheongju Sangdang through the choice of Cheongju citizens and party members in a primary, received a single nomination, the People Power Party and his personal honor were seriously damaged."

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