“On the 12th, Representative Park Ji-won from the Democratic Party of Korea claimed that President Yoon Seok-yeol had discussed the issue of granting clemency to former Governor Kim Kyung-soo during his meeting with former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung in April. At this meeting, President Yoon expressed his intention not to grant clemency to Kim, who could potentially be a future rival to Lee, but Lee responded by saying ‘the more competitors, the better,’ providing specific details about the conversation.
On the same day, Representative Park appeared on SBS Radio’s ‘Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show’ and stated, “It is true that the former leader requested clemency for Kim during the meeting in April as the Democratic Party had mentioned.” He explained, “During the meeting, when President Yoon mentioned that he would not grant clemency to Kim, and even when former Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Won Hee-ryong was mentioned, former Governor Kim also stated that he would not seek clemency. Former leader Lee’s response about more competitors being better was, in fact, a rejection of their offers.”
He further added, “The contents of the meeting were not disclosed at the time,” and said, “I once explained the related content as a background briefing to reporters. I chose to speak off the record strategically to corner the President and the Presidential Office if this were to be made public, following the political etiquette.”
Regarding the negative stance taken by Chairman Yoon Hee-hoon of the People Power Party on clemency for former Governor Kim, Representative Park criticized, “Didn’t former Presidents Lee Myung-bak and Park Geun-hye both refrain from clemency for the sake of national unity? Why is fairness and common sense selectively applied?”
On the question of whether Kim, who was granted clemency, could become a competitor to former leader Lee, Representative Park emphasized, “For the Democratic Party, having more human resources will make it a bigger party,” and said, “If former leader Lee, Governor Kim Dong-yeon, and former Governor Kim compete together, it will have a much better effect.”
Nevertheless, he stated, “Although they can compete, considering the current internal situations of various parties, I still believe former leader Lee will be in the lead.”