Park Ji-won "Democratic Party Must Settle Issues Before Yoon Mi-hyang Becomes Lawmaker"

Park Ji-won, member of the Minsaeng Party. Photo by Asia Economy DB

[Asia Economy Intern Reporter Min Jun-young] Park Ji-won, a member of the Minsaeng Party, pointed out on the 22nd regarding the allegations surrounding Yoon Mi-hyang, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea, that "the Democratic Party of Korea must resolve the issue of the elected member Yoon as soon as possible."

Park appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' that day and said, "(The Democratic Party) leadership and the floor have an instinctive desire to protect the members."

He added, "Politics is not about my thoughts but about how the people judge and how the facts unfold. I think the Democratic Party might have misunderstood or misinterpreted the press conference scheduled for the 25th by Grandmother Lee Yong-soo."

Regarding the post by Democratic Party member Kim Young-choon on Facebook the previous day, urging Yoon to voluntarily resign, he said, "I believe the floodgates have opened even within the Democratic Party."

He continued, "There are various disciplinary methods such as convening the Ethics Committee, but the Democratic Party must at least draw a line. If Yoon endures for just one more week, she will become an incumbent member. Before she assumes office, the Democratic Party must take measures that the public can accept."

He also stated, "I do not intend to belittle Yoon Mi-hyang's 30 years of contributions to the comfort women issue, but the current allegations could be problematic regardless of those contributions. Moreover, considering media reports that the prosecution is investigating embezzlement and breach of trust, resolving these allegations will not be easy."