Lee Jun-seok: "If the current standards applied to the First Lady, star prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol would not have existed"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, criticized President Yoon Seok-yeol's special interview on KBS by referring to the "star prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol" on the 8th. Lee said on his Facebook that "If the president, during his time as a prosecutor, had conducted investigations with the same standards he now applies to the First Lady and his family, there would never have been a star prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol."

Lee Jun-seok, Chairman of the Reform New Party's Policy Committee, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the "New Future Party Founding Inaugural Meeting" held on the 16th of last month at the Seoul Women's Plaza in Dongjak-gu, Seoul.
[Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@]

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This is interpreted as an indirect criticism of President Yoon's remarks during the KBS special interview "Visiting the Presidential Office" aired the previous day. In particular, President Yoon mentioned Pastor Choi, a Korean-American who gifted luxury bags, in response to questions about the "luxury bag acceptance allegations" involving First Lady Kim Kun-hee, saying, "(She is) from the same hometown as her father and they have some acquaintance," and added, "It is really difficult for the president or the first lady to treat anyone so coldly."

He continued, "If the problem was that they couldn't cut ties coldly, then that might be an issue, and I think it was somewhat regrettable," and said, "If it were me, I would have dealt with it more firmly, but from my wife's perspective, it was probably difficult to reject due to various circumstances."

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, indirectly criticized President Yoon's KBS special interview on the 8th by mentioning "Star Prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol." On that day, Lee said on his Facebook, "If the president, during his time as a prosecutor, had conducted investigations by the same standards he now applies to the first lady and his family, there would never have been a star prosecutor Yoon Seok-yeol."
[Photo by Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party Facebook]

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Earlier, Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform New Party, sparked controversy by claiming he received a tip from a party member working as a YouTube manager at a media company that "a certain power pressured the media company not to cover Reform New Party-related content."

On the 6th, during a live broadcast on the YouTube channel "Yeouido Reconstruction Association," operated together with Supreme Council members Cheon Ha-ram and Lee Gi-in, Lee said, "A party member working as a YouTube manager at a certain media company told me that 'someone with considerable power told their media company not to cover Reform New Party-related content, so although they used to cover a lot about the Reform New Party, they have recently stopped.'"

He claimed that forces opposing the Reform New Party or Lee himself exerted undue pressure on the media. Lee then addressed his supporters, saying, "When I come to power later, I will send those who pressured the media straight to prison," and added, "So please keep promoting until that day comes. Those guys will definitely go to jail." He further stated, "I'm not lying. I heard that during the process of uploading videos featuring key Reform New Party figures on YouTube, someone with power contacted an executive-level person at the media company to stop it," and added, "They are truly bad people. In my view, they are really bad people."

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