Lee Jae-myung "Kim Hyun-ah·Park Soon-ja?"... Retaliation with Money Envelope Allegations Against the Ruling Party

"Don't You Care About Ruling Party Lawmakers' Issues?"
Song Young-gil's Question Met with a 'Counterattack' Strategy

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is employing a 'counterattack' strategy against the ruling party's attacks regarding the 2021 party convention money envelope allegations. When questions arise about Song Young-gil, the former party leader at the center of the allegations, he responds by mentioning suspicions involving ruling party lawmakers.

On the afternoon of the 25th, after attending the launch ceremony of the Social Economy Committee held at the National Assembly, Lee was asked by reporters about his stance on the travel ban imposed on former leader Song. He retorted, "What is the status of the investigation into former lawmaker Park Soon-ja? (Are you) not interested in issues concerning ruling party lawmakers?"

The day before, when asked about lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Sung-man, who face similar allegations as former leader Song, Lee responded, "What about former lawmaker Kim Hyun-ah? Are you unaware?"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea.
Photo by Yonhap News

Former Future United Party (predecessor of the People Power Party) lawmaker Park Soon-ja was indicted in November last year on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act by accepting money in exchange for nominating city council members in Ansan, Gyeonggi Province, ahead of the June 1 local elections last year. Former Future United Party lawmaker Kim Hyun-ah (head of the Goyang City Party Committee) is also under police investigation for illegal political fund acceptance.

Lee's response is interpreted as an attempt to prevent the image of the party as a 'corrupt party' from solidifying due to the money envelope allegations. On the other hand, it seems aimed at highlighting that the money envelope allegations are being emphasized more compared to suspicions faced by ruling party figures.

Within the party, some have criticized Lee's response as a 'frame war' that obscures the essence of the issue.

Lee Won-wook, a non-mainstream Democratic Party lawmaker, criticized in an interview with SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' on the 25th, "Bringing up the other side's faults to cover our own mistakes and continuously attaching frames is actually a very long-standing practice in politics," and one of the reasons why distrust in politics and public confidence in the National Assembly have reached their worst levels."

He added, "The right attitude is to first resolve my own mistakes and problems," and expressed concern, "If we do not show the public that 'they are reflecting on their wrongdoings,' I doubt whether trust in the Democratic Party will ever be restored."