"Hong Jun-pyo is a Great Politician... Differentiation from Yoon Seok-yeol"
Former National Intelligence Service Director Park Ji-won advised Kim Nam-guk, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who is embroiled in allegations of holding cryptocurrency worth billions of won, to "donate the money earned from coins to underprivileged groups."
On the 11th, on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' Park said, "If Representative Kim undergoes a thorough investigation and it turns out he made money from coins, I believe he should show an act of donating to underprivileged groups," adding, "Anyway, the Democratic Party is facing public disapproval not only over money envelopes but now also virtual currencies and coins."
He stated, "(Selling all holdings) is natural and donations must be made. That is the attitude of a member of the National Assembly. To seek success and make money like this is theft," and added, "Trying to do both is excessive greed. If you become a member of the National Assembly, you should not engage in such matters."
Park also revealed that he gave advice to Representative Kim. He explained, "I act as a mentor to him, and when I first saw the report, I called him. 'Kim Nam-guk, Democratic Party, 6 billion won in coins?this is something the public will never understand. Therefore, you must provide a clear explanation.' But when he tried to explain, it only got more complicated," and continued, "So I told him to meet and unconditionally apologize to the public and not say anything beyond that."
Park pointed out, "The media is continuously tracking this, but coins are something that old-timers like us don't understand well. Since Representative Kim is part of the younger generation, the MZ generation, it seems he did make a mistake," adding, "However, should a member of the National Assembly be involved in this? It does not align with public sentiment."
Daegu Mayor Hong Joon-pyo also mentioned Kim's possible withdrawal from the party. However, Park expressed that 'it is not yet time for that.' He said, "We need to observe the situation. If it turns out to be wrong, then withdrawal and expulsion should follow. But now is not the time for that."
At the same time, he emphasized that cryptocurrency trading should not be indiscriminately labeled as immoral, referring to former party leader Lee Jun-seok's coin transactions. He said, "What did former leader Lee say at the time? He said he earned enough from coins to run two or three elections. It was no big deal. This is not about attacking former leader Lee, but understanding that for the MZ generation, this has become normalized."
Regarding Mayor Hong's meeting with Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, Park viewed it positively. He said, "President Yoon Seok-youl has not met the opposition even once during his first year in office, but Mayor Hong still meets them. How much has he differentiated himself from President Yoon?" adding, "Indeed, Mayor Hong is a great politician and a truly proper person."
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