Kim Nam-guk: "Li Jae-myung Responsibility Theory Is Just Touching on Side Issues"

"Lee Jae-myung, the Saddest Person"
"Prosecutors Set Up Permanent Office at Gyeonggi Provincial Government and Conduct Search"

Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, dismissed the emerging "Lee Jae-myung responsibility theory" within the party regarding the death of a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, saying, "Isn't this just picking at side issues rather than the essence of the problem?"

On the 13th, Kim said on MBC's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus," "Naturally, the person who would be most saddened, distressed, and heartbroken by this issue is Representative Lee himself."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

He added, "The essence of this issue is ultimately the coercive investigation that continuously pressured a civil servant who was simply doing his job diligently. It is right for us to criticize and examine this part, but politically shifting this to demand the resignation of the party leader is not a proper criticism."

Regarding the death of Jeon, a close aide during Lee's tenure as governor of Gyeonggi Province, the pro-Lee faction within the Democratic Party maintains the position that it was due to "coercive investigations by the prosecution." Kim also said, "In the end, it seems that the psychological pressure related to the prosecution's coercive investigation and other investigative matters led to this unfortunate choice," adding, "Such tragic incidents have mainly occurred in special investigation units."

In response, the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office Seongnam Branch stated, "The deceased was once video-recorded for questioning on December 26 last year in connection with the Seongnam FC case, and there have been no further investigations or summons since then. No other investigations or summons have been made by the prosecution office."

It is also known that Jeon’s will contained advice to Representative Lee to "step down from politics." Regarding this, Kim said, "Since this is being relayed secondhand and the actual contents of the will have not been officially disclosed, making political speculations based on this is somewhat unreasonable," and criticized, "It is inappropriate for the political circles, regardless of party, to frame this as a subject of criticism while the funeral is still underway."

There were also claims that the prosecution set up a permanent office while conducting a search and seizure at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government. He said, "The prosecution continued the search and seizure at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government for more than two weeks and even set up a permanent office there to continue the search and seizure," raising his voice, "Has anything like this ever happened in the history of the constitutional government? Could this coercive investigation, which involved removing political opponents and conducting extensive searches of their surroundings, have caused this tragic situation?"

Representative Lee also claimed at the on-site Supreme Council meeting held at the Gyeonggi Provincial Assembly on the 10th, "They have occupied the Gyeonggi Provincial Government office since February 22, conducting a permanent search and seizure for over two weeks to catch me." In response, the prosecution immediately issued a statement saying, "At the request of Gyeonggi Province, which deemed it necessary for swift progress and smooth provincial administration, the investigation is being conducted in one office prepared within the provincial government," adding, "We are continuously coordinating with the Gyeonggi Provincial Government to promptly conclude the search and seizure. The claim that the prosecution occupied the Gyeonggi Provincial Government office is completely untrue."