"If the future ruling party leader instructed evidence destruction, it is serious"
"Explanation must be provided to the public before investigation to ensure understanding"
Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, is delivering a greeting at the Honam region nomination briefing session for the June 1 local elections held on the afternoon of the 2nd at the Kim Dae-jung Convention Center in Seo-gu, Gwangju. / Photo by Yonhap News
[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Juhyung] The Democratic Party of Korea has called for an official explanation regarding the 'sexual bribery allegations' surrounding Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party. This is the first time the Democratic Party has officially addressed the sexual bribery allegations against Lee.
Oh Young-hwan, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, stated in a briefing on the 7th, "Lee was reported to the police on charges of instructing the destruction of evidence related to the sexual bribery allegations," adding, "If it is true that the leader of the main opposition party, who will soon become the leader of the ruling party, not only engaged in sexual bribery but also instructed the destruction of evidence, this is an extremely serious issue."
He continued, "As each party strengthens moral verification standards ahead of local election nominations, can the party leader who leads the nominations be involved in sexual misconduct allegations?" and emphasized, "If evidence was instructed to be destroyed to cover up such allegations, it is not a matter to be glossed over as the person is unfit for public office."
He also added, "Attorney Kang Yong-seok, who raised the allegations, strongly opposed by saying, 'I was denied re-entry into the party after pointing out the instruction to destroy evidence of sexual bribery,'" and said, "Since a complaint has been filed, a police investigation will proceed, but Lee must explain himself in a way that the public can accept before the investigation."
Attorney Kang Yong-seok, a cast member of the YouTube channel 'Garosero Research Institute,' held a press conference at Seryu Station in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province on the afternoon of the 4th, declaring his candidacy for the Gyeonggi Province governor election. / Photo by Yonhap News
Earlier, on December 27 last year, the YouTube channel 'Garo Sero Research Institute' (Gaseyeon), featuring attorney Kang Yong-seok, claimed, "In 2013, Lee received sexual bribery from Kim Sung-jin, CEO of iKist, at a hotel in Daejeon." Recently, there have also been claims that Lee's side instructed the destruction of evidence to cover up these allegations.
In response, Lee's side has filed a complaint with the Gangnam Police Station in Seoul against Kang and former reporter Kim Se-ui, who appeared on Gaseyeon, on charges of violating the Information and Communications Network Act (defamation by false information).
Meanwhile, Kang, who applied for re-entry into the People Power Party on the 4th but was rejected by the party's Supreme Council, strongly opposed the decision during a radio broadcast on the 7th, saying, "(The rejection of re-entry) is an utterly unacceptable decision."
When asked by the host if he had made political attacks against Lee (such as raising the sexual bribery allegations), he responded, "Of course, it seems that this was done unilaterally regardless of the election due to personal grudges," and argued, "Soon the party leader will become the ruling party leader, and while the sexual bribery issue might be set aside, pointing out the instruction to destroy evidence to cover up that crime is something that must be done."
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