Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party, speaks at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 18th. Senior Reporter Minkyu Park
The Democratic Party of Korea is obviously embarrassed when the head of the political coordination office, Jeong Jin-sang, who is the closest aide to CEO Lee Jae-myung, was arrested on bribery charges on the 19th. The Democratic Party saw that the prosecution’s investigation of Lee’s representative was imminent, and predicted a ‘all-out struggle’ against the Yoon Seok-yeol government. The leadership of CEO Lee, who defended Chief Chung, was put to the test.
On the 20th, CEO Lee did not comment on the arrest of Chief Chung and focused on taking care of the people’s livelihood. Representative Lee said in an article posted on Social Network Service (SNS) that day, “It is time for the state to step forward and urgent measures to guarantee housing stability,” and announced that he would restore the public rental housing budget cut by the government in next year’s budget.
Previously, on the 19th, when Chief Jung was arrested, CEO Lee said on social media, “One of my political comrades has been arrested again. He said, “I believe that the truth will not sink no matter how much you wield the blade of manipulation.” Representative Lee said, “My only worry is that the government, obsessed with killing Lee Jae-myung and destroying the opposition party, is throwing away people’s livelihood.” said
The Democratic Party predicted an all-out struggle against the Yoon Seok-yeol government. Park Hong-geun, the floor leader, met with reporters at the National Assembly that day and said, “Chief Chung is not the person who would do what the current prosecution claims.” . Democratic Party spokesman Lim Oh-kyung said at a National Assembly briefing on the 19th, “The arrest of Chief Chung does not justify the prosecution’s unreasonable manipulation investigation.”
The Democratic Party was agitated when Representative Lee’s closest aide Kim Yong, vice president of the Democratic Research Institute, was arrested on charges of accepting ‘illegal presidential election funds’, and Chung was also arrested on charges of accepting bribes from the Daejang-dong gang. The Democratic Party believes that there is a high possibility that Lee will come under investigation after the prosecution indicts Chief Chung. The prosecution may summon Lee for questioning next month.
Reaction within the party was divided between hardline and prudent views. Representatives Ahn Min-seok, Kang Min-jeong, Kim Yong-min, Yang Yi-won-yeong, Yoo Jeong-ju, and Hwang Un-ha stood on the podium at the ‘candlelight rally urging the resignation of President Yoon Seok-yeol’ held near Seoul City Hall on the 19th. Rep. Yoo said, “The Yoon Seok-yeol government must stop hunting people. If you do not reflect or stop, come down from the spot. Resign,” he said. As of the 20th, the Democratic Party’s rights party’s bulletin board is flooded with requests from party members to ‘go out of the field struggle’ and ‘protect Lee Jae-myung’. Rep. Ahn said in a YTN radio interview on the 18th, “The prosecution regime is aiming for the Democratic Party’s criminal grouping,” and said, “It is time to go out to the square.”
Members of parliament who insist on prudence show a skeptical attitude, saying, ‘Should the party protect the personal corruption charges of party officials?’ Rep. Lee Sang-min said in a KBS radio interview on the 16th, “It is not appropriate for the party leadership to step forward and cover the suspicions of Vice-President Kim or Chief Chung with all their might.” It should be avoided,” he said. When the party leadership shared even the data of the ‘Daejang-dong Incident Fact Check (Q&A)’ with lawmakers at the general meeting of lawmakers on the 15th, complaints came out saying, “Why do we need this kind of education?”
The Democratic Party maintains a single line against the political situation, but Lee’s leadership may be shaken depending on the results of the prosecution’s investigation. Rep. Lee Won-wook said in an SBS radio interview on the 3rd, “If the content of the consent motion for Lee’s arrest is specific and there is evidence, there will be many lawmakers in the party who are thinking about and insisting on the issue of Lee’s move.” Some lawmakers are paying attention to the party’s approval rating, which was stuck in the box in the early 30% range in various opinion polls, and the background that the number of non-party members increased to the 30% range. A member of the metropolitan area said, “The government and the ruling party are also in a mess due to the chaos of state administration, but the reason there is no difference in the approval ratings of the two parties is that they enjoy the reflective benefit (Representative Lee Judicial Risk).”