Jeong Cheong-rae: "Lee Jun-seok, Do Not Recklessly Mention Roh Moo-hyun's Spirit... It Makes Me Grit My Teeth"

Jeong Cheong-rae, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Choyoung] On the 28th, Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, who condemned the ruling party's forced passage of the Media Arbitration Act, saying, "Are those who claim to be successors of the Roh Moo-hyun administration trying to establish a rigid media environment?" He warned, "Do not recklessly mention the 'Roh Moo-hyun spirit'."

In a post on his Facebook on the same day, Jeong said, "Doesn't your party have many former presidents as well?" and started by saying, "You should be exploiting the spirit of Chun Doo-hwan, Lee Myung-bak, and Park Geun-hye, so why are you talking about the excellent spirit of another party?"

He added, "I warn Leader Lee. Do not dare to mention the Roh Moo-hyun spirit in a party that holds a philosophy completely opposite to that of Roh Moo-hyun," and continued, "Do you not know why, how, and by whom President Roh Moo-hyun was driven to death? It makes my blood boil. Let's live with some conscience."

Earlier, on the 27th, the National Assembly's Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee held a subcommittee meeting on cultural and artistic bills and passed the amended Media Arbitration Act solely by the ruling party. The amendment includes provisions allowing victims of false or fabricated reports to claim up to five times the damages from media companies.