"When Problems Arise in the Democratic Party, It Always Ends with Lee Jae-myung's Responsibility"
"Kim Nam-guk's Actions Are Not Even a Violation of the Improper Conduct Act"
As the National Assembly Ethics Special Committee's proposal to expel Rep. Kim Nam-guk, who left the Democratic Party of Korea amid suspicions of multi-billion won cryptocurrency transactions, was rejected due to unanimous opposition from Democratic Party members, suspicions arose that "there might be instructions from Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader." In response, Jeong Seong-ho, a pro-Lee (친명) leading Democratic Party lawmaker, denied this by asking, "Did you hear it directly?"
On the 31st, Rep. Jeong said on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "How could the party leader give instructions on this matter, telling them what to do or not to do?"
Regarding the previous day's rejection of the expulsion proposal by the National Assembly Ethics Committee, Jang Ye-chan, the Youth Supreme Council member of the People Power Party, pointed to Lee as the mastermind behind the rejection, saying, "If there were no instructions from Leader Lee to protect Kim Nam-guk, would all three Democratic Party lawmakers have voted against the proposal?" Non-Lee (비명) Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Jong-min also suspected Lee's instructions, stating, "Such a decision would be impossible without leadership directives."
However, Rep. Jeong said, "I don't know what kind of instructions those were or what they meant, but I want to ask whether those people heard it directly or just heard it secondhand," adding, "Honestly, making such speculative remarks is just an extension of the logic inside and outside the Democratic Party that whenever there is a problem in the party, it always ends with 'Lee Jae-myung is responsible.'"
He said, "Isn't this a very sensitive issue that has made the public very angry? No matter how many mitigating circumstances there are, the party leader cannot express his opinion on this matter."
Regarding all Democratic Party lawmakers voting against the expulsion, Rep. Jeong said, "If I were an ethics committee member, I think I would have had a lot of 고민 (concerns) about what to do," adding, "This act (cryptocurrency trading) is not currently a case that violates criminal law or has been referred to criminal judicial procedures."
He emphasized that Rep. Kim's declaration not to run again and issues of fairness also influenced the decision. He said, "The biggest thing for a politician is to end their own political life. Not only did he leave the Democratic Party, but recently he declared that he would not run next year and would quit politics. Also, even those who violated criminal law and received prison sentences from the Supreme Court were not discussed by the ethics committee."
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