Park Soo-young "Will Lee Jae-myung Withdraw if Close Aide Corruption Emerges?"... Lee Jae-myung "What About Yoon Seok-youl?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party presidential candidate and Governor of Gyeonggi Province, avoided giving a direct answer on the 18th when asked whether he would withdraw from the presidential race if corruption involving his close aides in the Daejang-dong development scandal were revealed. Instead, Lee countered by mentioning allegations of prosecution abuse involving Yoon Seok-youl, the People Power Party's presidential candidate, and questioned whether Yoon would withdraw.

On the same day, Park Soo-young, a member of the People Power Party, asked Lee during the National Assembly Public Administration and Security Committee’s audit held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government, "Is former Policy Chief Jeong Jin-sang considered a close aide?" Lee responded, "Yes."

Park then asked, "If the special prosecutor’s investigation reveals evidence linking Jeong to Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong, will you withdraw from the presidential race?"

Lee replied, "If you ask whether I will withdraw in case of corruption by close aides, then please answer whether the People Power Party will withdraw regarding their candidate whose close aides are 100% confirmed. If you answer that, I will answer as well." He added, "It is not appropriate to ask hypothetical questions."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Park said, "If you are asked about A, answer A. If you answer that way, the public will understand what it means."