"I Would Never Have Meant It That Way" Explanation
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Seul-gi] On the 24th, Lee Hae-sik, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who claimed during the confirmation hearing of Jo Sung-dae, a nominee for the Central Election Commission (CEC) and professor of International Relations at Hanshin University, that "it is important to have the mission of preventing decisions unfavorable to the Democratic Party," apologized saying, "I think I was very wrong."
On that day, Lee said in a post on his Facebook, "But surely I did not mean to say to the CEC nominee that if he becomes a commissioner, he should side with the Democratic Party."
He then explained the situation at the time, saying, "Throughout the hearing, fairness and political neutrality in election management were emphasized, and opposition party lawmakers repeatedly argued that nominee Jo was unfit to be a commissioner due to politically biased remarks he made in the past."
He added, "Since the commissioners recommended by the National Assembly are nominated by political parties, the ruling party naturally recommends individuals with ruling party tendencies, and the opposition party recommends those with opposition party tendencies."
Lee explained, "While commissioners must manage elections fairly overall, when the Election Commission makes decisions, commissioners recommended by the ruling party will consider whether the decision is unfair to the ruling party, and commissioners recommended by the opposition party will consider whether it is unfair to the opposition party."
He bowed his head and said, "I acknowledge that my unclear remarks caused misunderstandings. I apologize. I will be especially careful in my future statements to avoid causing misunderstandings."
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