"Moon Jae-in, Lee Jae-myung Election Campaign Backdrop? Opposition Candidates Unite in Criticism of Moon and Lee"

President Moon Jae-in is entering Sangchunjae at the Blue House on the 26th for a private talk with Lee Jae-myung, the presidential candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Presidential candidates from the People Power Party unanimously criticized the meeting between President Moon Jae-in and Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party candidate.

Former Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl stated on his Facebook on the 26th, "No matter what excuse is given, it was a wrong meeting," and pointed out, "The sitting president calling the ruling party's presidential candidate to the Blue House for a meeting is a clear act of election interference." Yoon added, "Anyone can see this as part of Lee's election campaign," and said, "President Moon served as a backdrop for this campaign. The president, who must strictly maintain election neutrality, should not act like this."

Yoon criticized that despite Lee being under investigation by the prosecution for the 'Daejang-dong Gate,' President Moon calling Lee to the Blue House is an obvious act of favoritism. He said, "The meeting between the two also declares 'Moon-Jaemyung,' meaning that candidate Lee Jae-myung is the successor of the Moon Jae-in administration and that they are one entity," adding, "If Lee comes to power, he will further destroy the rule of law that the Moon administration undermined, as well as the constitutional spirit and the system of the Republic of Korea that they damaged."

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min also stated, "In today's meeting, President Moon covered up Lee's Daejang-dong Gate, and Lee likely secured a backroom deal to guarantee President Moon's personal safety after his retirement," adding, "From now on, they will stop at nothing to extend their regime." Yoo further added, "Such backroom deals exploiting each other's weaknesses are ugly acts of destroying the rule of law."

Former Jeju Governor Won Hee-ryong also pointed out, "The Daejang-dong Gate is at risk of becoming Season 2 of election interference in the Ulsan mayoral election," and said, "The meeting between President Moon and candidate Lee should not have even been discussed." Won added, "There is not only the issue of election interference, but Lee is currently under indictment," and said, "Today's meeting could become an 'implicit guideline,' causing the investigation system to malfunction." He emphasized, "For a fair and just investigation, the ruling party and candidate Lee must immediately accept a special prosecutor and a national audit."