[Asia Economy Reporters Oh Ju-yeon and Jeon Jin-young] Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 20th warned former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol, saying, "If you think the outrageous remarks praising the coup forces of Jeon Du-hwan will pass without consequence, you are mistaken," and added, "We will not stand idly by."
At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Song referred to Yoon's remarks defending the Jeon Du-hwan regime the previous day, criticizing, "'Many say he did well in politics except for May 18' is as absurd as saying 'Yi Wan-yong did well in politics except for selling out the country.'" He then directly attacked, "Since entering politics, his abnormal behavior without a single day off has escalated to praising Jeon Du-hwan, the ringleader of a military rebellion."
Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 18th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@
He questioned, "If Jeon Du-hwan's Fifth Republic politics, which trampled on Gwangju citizens with guns and swords, violated human rights and democracy, and committed all sorts of corruption and irregularities, is called system politics, should we also call Hitler and Stalin's politics system politics?"
He continued, "How dare he praise Jeon Du-hwan while invoking Honam, the biggest victims of Jeon Du-hwan's tyranny?" and criticized, "How is this different from Japanese right-wingers claiming Koreans were happy during the Japanese colonial period?" He also stated, "It has been confirmed that Yoon Seok-yeol, who led a prosecutorial coup, has a political view strikingly similar to Jeon Du-hwan, who led a military coup."
Song said, "If he were an ordinary politician, his political career would have ended that day if he had made even one of the many outrageous remarks Yoon has uttered," and criticized, "Former emergency committee chairman Kim Jong-in and leader Lee Jun-seok's visit to the May 18th cemetery to kneel and apologize was a political ploy, and the tears Yoon shed in Gwangju were revealed to be 'crocodile tears.'"
That day, Song appeared on MBC Radio in the morning and said, "Jeon Du-hwan is not someone whose merits and demerits can be separated," and pointed at former Prosecutor General Yoon, saying, "Perhaps living among criminals as a prosecutor infected his thinking, or his thinking is regressing."
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