People Power Party Criticizes Anti-Corruption Commission: "Lee's Helicopter Privilege Transfer, a 'Memory Laundromat'"

Na Kyungwon Criticizes President Lee:
"Self-Absolution for Past Crimes"

On May 9, the People Power Party criticized the announcement made by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission regarding the "emergency helicopter transfer privilege controversy" that arose during President Lee Jaemyung's tenure as leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.

The party condemned the commission's announcement, which pointed to problems in the handling of the case in the past, stating, "Ahead of the local elections, a state agency has acted as a 'memory laundromat' to erase the president's past wrongdoings."

People Power Party lawmaker Na Kyungwon is requesting to speak during the parliamentary session. Photo by Yonhap News

Chief spokesperson Park Sunghoon released a commentary that day, stating, "The result produced under the grand title of the 'Normalization Task Force' by the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission ultimately amounted to nothing more than a 'past-washing operation tailored to the tastes of those in power.'"

He said, "At the time, President Lee Jaemyung bypassed Pusan National University Hospital, which is home to the nation's leading regional trauma center, and called for an emergency helicopter as if it were a taxi to fly to Seoul. Does granting absolution for actions that undermined trust in local medical care and shook the very foundation of the medical delivery system truly constitute the normalization the commission claims to pursue?"

Na Kyungwon, another lawmaker, also wrote on Facebook, "President Lee Jaemyung, under the pretense of normalizing the commission, has manipulated the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission to grant himself immunity in the 'helicopter privilege transfer' case. The president should stop self-absolving, stop self-glorification, and first face the suspended trial."

The previous day, the Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission announced through its Normalization Task Force that it was inappropriate to judge the 2004 incident as a violation of the medical staff's code of conduct, and that there was improper intervention by the then secretary-general during the process.

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