"North Korea-level Fear"...Ruling Party Focuses Fire on Lee Jae-myung's Close Aide's Death

As it was reported that Jeon, a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and former governor of Gyeonggi Province, was found dead at his home the previous day, the ruling party launched a full-scale offensive, mentioning Lee's political responsibility. The Democratic Party also strongly pressured the opposition, linking the rejection of the arrest motion led by the Democratic Party and the dual special investigations (Kim Keon-hee special investigation and the 5 billion won special investigation). Although the Democratic Party has not yet issued an official statement, the pro-Lee faction is attributing the cause to coercive prosecution investigations.

Kim Jae-won, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, said on the 10th on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "People related to Lee continue to make tragic choices. I think the way to end this tragedy, for the sake of protecting our people, is to quickly detain Lee."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Jeon was a close aide who served as the first chief secretary when Lee was governor of Gyeonggi Province. After Lee Heon-wook resigned as president of the Gyeonggi Housing and Urban Corporation (GH), Jeon served as acting president until he retired at the end of December last year. With Jeon's death, the number of deaths among Lee's close aides has now risen to five.

Kim Byung-min, Supreme Council Member of the People Power Party, also said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "It's a very unfortunate matter," adding, "Among the cases for which Lee is currently indicted, one involves violations of the Public Official Election Act, including the claim that he 'did not know' the late Kim Moon-gi, former chief secretary. Too many people have died in connection with these matters."

He continued, "At the very least, Lee, who is facing serious charges and has had an arrest warrant requested, should feel a heavy and infinite sense of responsibility," and criticized, "It seems difficult to find any moral responsibility, let alone political responsibility, in Lee."

Seong Il-jong, Policy Committee Chair of the People Power Party, was asked about the 'dual special investigations' promoted by the Democratic Party and the Justice Party on KBS's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs.' He said, "Before talking about the dual special investigations, shouldn't we first stop the deaths occurring around Lee?" and added, "There is only one person responsible. That person must first speak," pressuring both Lee and the Democratic Party simultaneously.

The ruling party leadership also raised their critical voices through social media. Supreme Council Member Tae Young-ho said, "Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party is scarier than North Korea's nuclear weapons. It is truly the 'Lee Jae-myung disaster,'" and added, "To prevent any more innocent lives from being sacrificed, Lee should step down as the Democratic Party leader and sincerely cooperate with the prosecution investigation."

Jang Ye-chan, Youth Supreme Council Member, said, "The Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case is Lee's Achilles' heel, and the second arrest motion, which includes charges related to the North Korea remittance, is a situation that even the Democratic Party finds difficult to reject. Coincidentally, Lee's chief secretary, who had gone to offer condolences on behalf of Lee at the funeral of former Ssangbangwool chairman Kim Sung-tae's mother, has died," pointing out, "This is not simply the death of a former chief secretary but the sudden death of a key witness in the North Korea remittance case, which is gaining momentum due to Kim Sung-tae's testimony."

He added, "Who benefits the most from this, who can delay the investigation and thus postpone the second arrest motion? It is none other than Lee. This reality is scarier than a detective novel."

While the Democratic Party, centered on the pro-Lee faction, seems to be attributing the cause of the deaths among Lee's close aides to 'coercive prosecution investigations,' it has not yet made an official statement. Lee himself has also not made any particular statement. Amid the differing temperatures between the pro-Lee and anti-Lee factions within the opposition regarding the arrest motion against Lee, it is worth watching whether different voices will emerge according to faction.