Jung Sung-ho: "Many lawmakers feel that the prosecution is abusing its power"

Appearing on YTN Radio on the 23rd
"We Must Stand United Against the Government and Ruling Party's Full-Scale Offensive"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Jeong Seong-ho, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, targeted the Presidential Office and the ruling party regarding the prosecution's investigation of Representative Lee Jae-myung. He claimed that the government and the ruling party are oppressing the opposition party amid difficult living conditions due to heating costs and other issues.

On the 23rd, Jeong appeared on YTN Radio's 'News King Park Ji-hoon' and directly criticized, saying, "The government and the ruling party are ruining the future of the Republic of Korea," and "They are unprecedentedly concentrating all their efforts on the detention of the leader of the main opposition party."

Jeong said, "What the people want most is not the detention of Lee Jae-myung but the resolution of livelihood issues," and criticized, "How much hardship and suffering are ordinary people going through because of high interest rates, high prices, and the 'heating cost bomb'?" He added, "The people are very exhausted," and said, "This is not a one or two-month investigation; the investigation has been ongoing since right after the last presidential election, so the people will feel that 'the prosecution is conducting an excessive investigation' and 'there is no evidence that Representative Lee received money.'"

Jeong Seong-ho, member of the Democratic Party of Korea. [Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding the possibility of the rejection of the arrest motion for Representative Lee, he said, "Even lawmakers somewhat distant from Representative Lee now share a consensus that the prosecution's investigation behavior and the contents of the arrest warrant are 'really excessive investigation' and 'a planned investigation to oppress and destroy the opposition party.'" He added, "Especially, the behavior shown by the prosecution during the investigation process seems to have made many lawmakers feel that the prosecution is abusing its power."

In response to opinions calling for Representative Lee's 'resignation as party leader' and 'giving up the nomination rights,' Jeong drew a line, saying, "Now is not the time to talk about nomination issues." He said, "Right now, it is urgent for lawmakers to unite as a single front against the government's and ruling party's full-scale offensive and overcome the crisis."

When the host asked, "If Representative Lee has to stand trial until the general election, wouldn't it be difficult to lead the election campaign?" Jeong replied, "That is the ruling party's wish." He explained, "Generally, the general election planning team is formed about six months before the election, and the nomination process begins about four months before. At that time, Representative Lee will also consider what he should do for the party's victory, but that is not the issue now."