[Asia Economy Reporter Park Cheol-eung] Seol Hoon, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, said regarding the 'Geum Tae-seop-Kim Nam-guk' controversy, "There is a misunderstanding that the party forced lawyer Kim Nam-guk to leave, but that is absolutely not true." He also mentioned that Democratic Party leader Lee Hae-chan told lawmaker Geum Tae-seop not to have such misunderstandings.
On the 19th, Seol appeared on MBC Radio's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus' and emphasized, "Lawyer Kim Nam-guk had a position different from lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, so he wanted to challenge and prove that his stance was correct. The party never told him to leave."
When the host mentioned, "There were reports that leader Lee Hae-chan sent a message to lawyer Kim Nam-guk saying 'just don't leave'," Seol responded, "I think such a message was conveyed more to lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, telling him that it’s not true and to work hard. The party does not support or exclude any particular individual."
He said it is expected to go to a primary election. When the host brought up speculation reports that former lawmaker Jeong Bong-ju was behind lawyer Kim’s decision to run, Seol said, "Some people say that since former lawmaker Jeong Bong-ju stepped down, they would put someone forward as an alternative. I have no way to verify if such factional matters occurred, but what is clear is that within the party leadership, there was no discussion about sending Kim Nam-guk because Jeong Bong-ju stepped down. I want to make that clear."
He also mentioned lawyer Kim Yong-min, who was a member of the Ministry of Justice and Prosecution Reform Committee during former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk’s tenure, deciding to run in the district of lawmaker Joo Kwang-deok, who was known as a 'Cho Kuk sniper.' Seol said, "Lawyer Kim Yong-min has a strong will for prosecution reform. As a young lawyer, he is considered competitive enough to run against lawmaker Joo Kwang-deok. That’s why he decided to run." He added, "This has nothing to do with Cho Kuk. Those who talk about a 'Cho Kuk battle' are, I think, trying to frame it as a 'Cho Kuk frame' for their own purposes."
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