Opposition, Ha Young-je's Voting Burden? Woo Sang-ho Says "Not Much of a Burden"

Representative Woo Sang-ho, SBS Radio Interview
Emphasizes Difference from Representative Lee Jae-myung's Case
Mentions Ha Young-je's Case, Saying "Nomination Bribery Is Political Corruption"

Regarding concerns that the Democratic Party is facing a dilemma ahead of the vote on the arrest consent motion for Hayoungje, a member of the People Power Party, Woo Sang-ho, a member of the Democratic Party, said, "It is not much of a burden."

He explained that Hayoungje is accused of receiving nomination bribes, a representative form of political corruption, which is different from the case of Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party.

On the 24th, Woo appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Taehyun's Political Show' and said, "If the investigation by the prosecution regarding Hayoungje is true, it means he received nomination bribes while making nominations," adding, "That is a typical political corruption, and no one who has received nomination bribes so far has escaped punishment."

Woo Sang-ho, Member of the Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

He continued, "(Nomination bribes) are a form of selling offices. It means 'pay money and we'll give you a position,'" and said, "Everyone who has received nomination bribes has been 100% convicted, punished, and expelled from politics. If the allegations against Hayoungje are true, the nature of the crime is very serious."

He said, "Regarding Lee Jae-myung, there is no evidence or related indictment that he personally took money. So the indictment is about whether the policy decisions he made as mayor benefited the citizens of Seongnam or not," adding, "Therefore, the vote on Hayoungje's arrest consent motion should not be linked to Lee Jae-myung."

Regarding the internal party conflict related to Lee's decision to retain his leadership position, he said, "At least the decision-making process of the party committee due to the indictment was completely resolved through yesterday's party meeting."

He added, "The issues raised by some dissenting members were sufficiently explained at yesterday's party meeting, and members Jeon Hae-cheol and Kim Jong-min also made personal remarks," adding, "After hearing their statements, everyone acknowledged that the prosecution conducted an excessive investigation and indictment, but they hoped our party would properly follow procedural matters. I went out and explained what procedures the emergency committee should follow, and overall, there was agreement."