Song Gap-seok: "Opposition Supreme Council Members Knew the Day Before Lee Raekyung's Appointment... Don't Even Know Who She Is"

Song Gap-seok, a member of the non-Myeong (非明) faction and a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, revealed that the Supreme Council members only learned about Lee Rae-gyeong, the director of Another Hundred Years, being appointed as the Innovation Committee Chair the day before the appointment. It turned out that the Supreme Council members did not even know who this director was.

On the 7th, on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Supreme Council member Song said, "The day before the appointment, on Sunday evening, the Supreme Council members held a closed-door meeting, and it was there that all the Supreme Council members heard for the first time that the Innovation Committee Chair would be Director Lee."

No Supreme Council member knew about Director Lee being appointed as the Innovation Committee Chair until the decision was made. He said, "The establishment of the Innovation Committee requires the approval of the Supreme Council, but the appointment of the Innovation Committee Chair is made by the party leader after consultation with the Supreme Council, and in any case, it is the party leader's authority." He added, "I think there was no major formal problem in the consultation process, but regarding the consultation itself, both I and others heard it for the first time, and no one knew who Director Lee was. Not a single person knew."

There have been some reports that former party leader Lee Hae-chan recommended Director Lee as the Innovation Committee Chair. Regarding this, Supreme Council member Song said, "I don't know if that's true, but when the leader explained on the day, the name of former leader Lee or anyone else was not mentioned at all." He added, "There were recommendations from democracy movement veterans, including Father Ham Se-woong. The leader himself mentioned this."

When asked by the host whether there was any proper discussion on whether it was right or wrong for Director Lee to take on the Innovation Committee Chair position, Supreme Council member Song said, "Yes, there is some regret in that regard." He continued, "Because there were various debates and discussions, the leadership, including the party leader, seemed to have thought a lot about security issues. If they had given more room to think more thoroughly about this person, it might have prevented this personnel disaster."

However, Supreme Council member Jang Kyung-tae, who also participated in the meeting, said there was discussion about 'corruption or illegality.' Regarding this, Supreme Council member Song said, "If you look at this director's profile, he had quite deep connections with the Korean Peninsula Foundation and related groups, and there are related lawmakers in our party as well. So, it was natural to gather related public opinions. That was the premise for the Supreme Council members." He added, "There were some somewhat extreme expressions, but they were not considered major problems."

When asked whether the Supreme Council was aware of Director Lee's claims such as the 'Cheonan ship self-destruction' theory and the 'COVID-19 originating in the U.S.' theory, Supreme Council member Song said, "It is difficult to judge how much they knew based on the report on that day." He explained, "There was no mention of anything related to the Cheonan ship incident, so even if they reviewed it, it might have been insufficient. If they made the decision despite reviewing various things, it is a serious political problem. One of these two issues is definitely present."

Regarding former party leader Lee Nak-yeon, who is expected to return soon, he pointed out that the party should not confront him. He said, "Currently, the tension within the party is high, and there are many concerns about the Democratic Party. Among those who are worried, they may express various opinions based on their concerns. However, the problem is that these various remarks can unnecessarily amplify tensions." He added, "I hope they take a broader perspective, worry about the country, and adopt a certain stance and activities."