"No Discomfort Even If the Subject Is Changed to Lee Jae-myung
... Birds of a Feather Flock Together" Criticism
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Kim Ki-hyun, the People Power Party's candidate for party leader, criticized Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on the 12th for consoling independent lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, saying "birds of a feather flock together."
On that day, Kim said on Facebook, "Lee said, 'The prosecution made Yoon Mi-hyang into a devil. I'm sorry for doubting her,'" and pointed out, "Even if you replace all the subjects in the 'consolation message to Yoon Mi-hyang' with Lee Jae-myung, there is no sense of incongruity at all." He added, "It seems as if Lee just changed the subject of his consistent excuses and wrote a diary."
Kim emphasized, "Especially regarding the 'crime committed,' he defended her with absurd and dangerous logic," and said, "Defendant Yoon Mi-hyang was convicted by the court for embezzling donation funds. Just because the charges recognized by the court have decreased does not mean that the shameless crime of cheating the comfort women victims' donations is a crime-free act."
He also criticized, "During the 2022 presidential election, Yoon supported then Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung," and said, "There is nothing wrong with the saying 'birds of a feather flock together.'
Kim said, "We must definitely achieve victory in the general election together and restore a society where common sense and conscience are alive."
The day before, Lee posted on Facebook a message titled 'The prosecution that made lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang a devil,' writing, "Eight charges, five years imprisonment requested. After two and a half years of trial, seven not guilty, one fined," and added, "How unfair must it have been for someone whose entire life was denied and who became a devil?"
The court concluded that Yoon used about 17 million won out of 103.7 million won in donation funds while serving as the director of Justice and Peace Foundation from 2011 to 2020 and previously as the head of Jeongdae-hyeop, for personal purposes in 68 instances. However, the court found insufficient evidence to consider the remaining amount as used for personal purposes. She was acquitted of charges including violation of the Act on the Collection and Use of Donations and fraud.
Regarding the court's judgment, Lee wrote, "Even I, who was equally victimized by the prosecution and fake news, doubted her...," and apologized to Yoon, saying, "I'm sorry. I was wrong. I will pull myself together again."
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