Song Young-gil "Cooperation on Political Reform Plan" Urged, Kim Ki-hyun "Special Prosecutor Needed for Seongnam City Lawyer Fees"
[Asia Economy Reporter Baek Kyunghwan] The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party have engaged in another political dispute ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday. While Song Young-gil, leader of the Democratic Party, pressured the People Power Party regarding the upcoming by-elections for the National Assembly to be held alongside next month's presidential election, Kim Ki-hyun, floor leader of the People Power Party, also demanded the introduction of a special prosecutor to investigate the 5 billion won legal fees received by eight lawyers close to Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's presidential candidate.
The pressure between the two sides began on the 28th when Leader Song stated at the headquarters meeting of the presidential campaign committee, "The Daegu Jungnang-gu constituency is a district where former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do resigned due to accepting a 500 million won bribe, and Seocho is a district where former lawmaker Yoon Hee-sook resigned amid real estate speculation allegations. The reasons for responsibility are clear."
Referring to the Democratic Party's policy of not nominating candidates in Seoul Jongno, Cheongju Sangdang, and Anseong areas, Leader Song said, "Although there is no legal reason for disqualification to the extent that we cannot nominate candidates, this is a political decision made in the spirit of responsible politics and reflection." He criticized, "What sacrifices have People Power Party lawmakers with prosecution backgrounds made for our country's democracy and homeland?" Song's remarks appeared to urge cooperation with his political reform plan, including the non-nomination in the by-elections, emphasizing that all lawmakers with prosecution backgrounds need to make a magnanimous decision to relinquish vested interests.
On the other hand, Floor Leader Kim, at a floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that day, mentioned the introduction of a special prosecutor, saying, "During candidate Lee's tenure as mayor of Seongnam, lawyer Cha, a judicial training institute classmate, received 950 million won in legal fees from Seongnam for 33 cases, which seems to be just the tip of the iceberg."
Kim pointed out, "There were suspicions of lawyer fee payments on behalf of Lee, who formed a mammoth legal team of about 30 members and reportedly did not spend about 250 million won of personal funds on legal fees. If Lee entrusted his personal defense cheaply but set high legal fees for Seongnam cases, this could be seen as embezzlement of public funds for private use."
He continued, "We requested materials from Seongnam regarding various allegations related to candidate Lee, but Eun Soo-mi, mayor of Seongnam and known as a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, has refused to submit the materials using all sorts of unreasonable excuses." He emphasized, "The recent allegations of preferential treatment in concentrating legal fees reinforce the suspicions of the late Lee Byung-chul's lawyer fee payments on behalf of others. Therefore, to uncover the truth, the introduction of a special prosecutor is inevitable."
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