Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok reiterated his denial of conspiracy allegations involving former President Yoon Seok-yeol and his wife regarding the investigation into Kim Gun-hee’s special prosecution’s candidate selection intervention suspicion.
At a meeting with reporters after presiding over his first supreme council meeting following his election as leader at the National Assembly today (4th), Lee stated, “Former President Yoon disliked me so much from the moment I joined the party that he pushed forward with a ‘passing joining.'”
Lee emphasized, “Have I ever had a relationship where I could conspire with former President Yoon and his wife?” and added, “There were unilateral moves to control and exclude me, and in that process, how much the public will believe the claim that I conspired regarding nominations is something I am curious about.”
He further criticized the special prosecutor, stating, “I hope they focus on proving the charges against former President Yoon and Kim Gun-hee and not add to the pressure on the political sphere, as it’s not the right direction for the investigation.”
Regarding the newly appointed Democratic Party leader Chung Cheong-rae, Lee commented, “He has been making sharp remarks right from the start. If both the President and Chung lean towards extremism, the public will experience extreme confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties regardless of the number of seats.”
He continued, “While I understand that Chung might have made excessive remarks during the election process, if he continues to make hostile statements towards the opposition, comparisons will inevitably be drawn to previous administrations like Park Geun-hye, Moon Jae-in, Yoon Seok-yeol, and Lee Jae-myung’s, questioning what’s different.”
Earlier, during the supreme council meeting, Lee criticized Lee Jae-myung government’s economic policies.
Lee remarked, “Now that the Lee Jae-myung government has somewhat established itself, it’s time to demand accountability instead of having expectations,” noting, “Shouting KOSPI 5000 while proposing anti-market policies is like hanging a sheep’s head while selling dog meat.”
Regarding the so-called “Yellow Envelope Act” expected to be tabled in the plenary session today, Lee stated, “I continuously opposed the amendment to impose unavoidable responsibilities on the main contractors,” expressing concern that “strangling businesses will leave us with nothing, not even the shipbuilding industry to fall back on during the next tariff negotiations.”
Addressing President Lee, Lee Jun-seok emphasized, “The Park Geun-hye administration was engrossed in ideological warfare and dissolving the Unified Progressive Party, Moon Jae-in’s in rectifying past wrongdoings and conflicts with the prosecution, while Yoon Seok-yeol focused on controlling the ruling party and quashing opponents,” adding, “If the Lee Jae-myung government doesn’t take a different path, expecting a different outcome will be difficult.”
[Photo Source: Yonhap News]
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