"Pro-Myung Faction's 170 Seats Overwhelmingly Rejected as Arrogance"
Choi Jae-sung, former Blue House Senior Secretary for Political Affairs, strongly criticized the rejection of the arrest motion against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, calling it a "trick" used by the 'Bi-myeong (非明)' faction.
On the 28th, Choi said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "That was politics that should not have been done," expressing his view.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is observing the vote counting process of the arrest warrant against him at the 8th plenary session of the 403rd National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
He stated, "Even if they dislike Lee and have resentment, and according to their logic, 'Lee Jae-myung won't do, how can we hold the general election like this,' and even if their concern for the party is sincere, the result is that this was a false act," adding, "Then this becomes distrust, and if this distrust is not just between politicians but completely takes root within the party, nothing will be trusted. The lowest and outwardly violent clashes are awaiting."
He argued that those who opposed the arrest motion in the party meeting but actually voted in favor are no different from lowly liars. He said, "The prosecution-led political retaliation is almost like a machine gun firing wildly, and in the situation where Lee is not being bulletproofed but shielded, one of the five shields is a fake shield, a paper shield," adding, "Until just before the vote, so-called Bi-myeong faction members said in the party meeting and elsewhere that the motion should be rejected, but the fact that more than 30 votes defected means that the Bi-myeong faction members who advocated rejection pulled a kind of trick."
Some analyze that the Bi-myeong faction members took collective action because Lee showed no intention to resign as party leader. However, former Senior Secretary Choi said, "That was something that came after yesterday's vote in terms of timing, something that Representative Seol Hoon and others hoped for or expected from Lee, but it was not a statement that such action should have been premised before," adding, "'It would be good to reject it and then make a good judgment afterward,' but with more than 30 defections, the expectation that Lee would make a decision and judgment for the party has become meaningless," he criticized.
He also pointed out that the pro-Lee faction's confidence that "more than 170 votes against" would be cast was a mistake. Choi said, "The so-called pro-Lee faction members or Floor Leader Park Hong-geun specifically mentioned 170 votes, saying 'It will be overwhelmingly rejected,' but you should not do politics like that," adding, "If there are strong opponents to Lee and even some emotional feelings, saying 'We will overwhelmingly reject it with more than 170 votes' is an arrogant announcement that provokes others to just do as they please according to their own judgment and will."
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