Lee Junseok on Choo Kyungho Warrant Dismissal: "Zhi Lu Wei Ma... No Decisive Testimony Secured"

Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform New Party, criticized the Democratic Party of Korea on the 3rd, calling it a case of "calling a deer a horse" ("Jilokwima"), after the court rejected the arrest warrant for Choo Kyungho, a People Power Party lawmaker accused of obstructing the National Assembly's vote to lift martial law.

Reform New Party leader Lee Junseok is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 17th of last month. Photo by Yonhap News

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On the morning of the same day, Lee posted on Facebook, "Jilokwima. This is an idiom from the Qin Dynasty, where the treacherous official Zhao Gao pointed at a deer and called it a horse," adding, "After the death of Qin Shi Huang, the eunuch Zhao Gao, who seized real power, wanted to test the strength of his authority. He showed a deer and declared, 'This is a horse,' and killed anyone who did not agree."

He went on to emphasize, "This was not simply forcing people to lie. It was an act of making people deny the truth with their own mouths, breaking their conscience, and neutralizing the elite group that supported the state."

He continued, "It is no coincidence that the story of calling a deer a horse came to mind when I saw the arrest warrant for Choo. From the beginning, there was only the scenario drawn by the Democratic Party and pro-government YouTubers, but not a single decisive testimony was secured to prove that the vote was intentionally obstructed to maintain martial law."

Lee stated, "When the court handed down the expected decision to dismiss the warrant, the Democratic Party immediately began attacking the Chief Justice and the judges," adding, "It is a threat: 'If you do not deliver the verdict we want, we will replace you.'"

He further said, "If this is not calling a deer a horse, what is? It is saying that if you do not call a deer a horse, you will be punished; that you must agree to a political conclusion rather than legal principles and evidence; and that any judge who does not agree will be forced to submit, even if it means changing the system."

Lee concluded, "History records the fate of Zhao Gao. As the elites he crushed collapsed, the state system of the Qin Dynasty became a hollow shell," adding, "Expecting a different outcome while acting like Zhao Gao is wishful thinking. I am concerned for the Republic of Korea."

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