Lee Jun-seok: "The Moon Administration's Gender Divide Was So Severe That Even North Korea..."

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, is greeting party members during his visit to the Gumi City (Gap) Party Members' Council in Gyeongbuk on the afternoon of the 10th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Soyoung] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, publicly criticized the 'Cheongju Spy Group' case, saying, "How severe must the Moon Jae-in administration's gender division have been for North Korea to issue orders to incite gender conflict?"

On the 11th, Lee shared an article on his Facebook stating that North Korea issued orders to the 'Ja-ju Tong-il Chungbuk Comrades Association,' known as the 'Cheongju Spy Group,' to "imprint the Liberty Korea Party (the predecessor of the People Power Party) as a 'women-hating party' to increase women's aversion."

According to the article Lee shared, North Korea emphasized in an order file named '__.docx' dated October 20, 2019, six days after former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk resigned, that "we must win over the wavering moderate faction due to Cho Kuk's resignation."

It also ordered, "The current situation is political chaos caused by the conservative forces' planned attempt to regain power by challenging the candlelight public's demands for clearing deep-rooted evils and prosecutorial reform, aiming for the revival of conservatism and regime takeover. If this is left unchecked, the moderate faction will also suffer damage, and this should be widely publicized."

In this process, instructions were also given to stigmatize the Liberty Korea Party as a 'women-hating party.' North Korea commanded, "President A (50, detained) should take responsibility and organize activities to increase local women's aversion by using groups such as the Women's Health Solidarity, operated by the company, to highlight derogatory remarks by Liberty Korea Party lawmakers like 'childbearing tools,' imprinting the Liberty Korea Party as a women-hating party, an inherently color-blind party, and a thoroughly low-class party."

In an order dated April 19, North Korea instructed, "Crushing the ruling ambitions of the conservative faction should be set as the company's immediate struggle task, and practical struggles should be strategically carried out to turn overall public sentiment into an anti-conservative struggle."

It further emphasized, "The anti-conservative struggle is the fundamental direction of struggle to realize anti-American independence and national reunification, and this should be deeply instilled so that core members of the organization actively engage in the anti-conservative struggle."

Meanwhile, investigative authorities reportedly found 84 encrypted files containing orders and reports exchanged between the suspects and North Korean operatives since 2017 on portable storage devices (USBs) seized during searches of their homes in May.