"Fasting to Reject Lee Jae-myung... Possible Coordination with Pro-Moon Faction"
Kim Ki-hyun, leader of the People Power Party, politely requested Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, to stop his 15-day hunger strike regardless of the reason. Former Vision Strategy Office Chief Kim Geun-sik analyzed this as an attempt to prevent a 'wheelchair appearance.'
On the 15th, Kim, a former chief, said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "The judicial process is in its final stages, but wouldn't it be bizarre for the public to see him being brought in on a wheelchair or lying on a bed? That needs to be prevented," explaining his view.
He added, "The vote on the arrest consent bill is coming up, and many people suspect Lee's sudden hunger strike is a shield strike. For the shield strike to be ineffective, he must recover before the warrant request or the substantive hearing in court. He should recover, eat some rice gruel, and appear in court in a normal state," he said.
Kim Ki-hyun requested Lee to stop the hunger strike the day before but has not visited the site to make the request in person. Kim Geun-sik predicted the visit date, saying, "It seems he might go within a day or two."
The intended effect of Lee's hunger strike is the 'rejection of the arrest consent bill,' and there may be some tacit understanding with pro-Moon faction lawmakers, according to Kim. He said, "When the warrant is issued and the arrest consent bill is sent to the National Assembly, how the Democratic Party responds will reveal the true intention of Lee's hunger strike. I believe there is some level of behind-the-scenes communication with pro-Moon faction lawmakers." This is because former President Moon Jae-in has called to request the hunger strike be stopped, former Blue House Chief Secretary Noh Young-min, a close aide to Moon, has directly requested the cessation, and pro-Moon Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung is guarding the hunger strike site.
He said, "While pro-Nak is difficult, pro-Moon might go along. If you calculate the votes this way, only a few more votes are needed. When the arrest warrant was issued last time, it was barely rejected. So, just a little more vote management is needed," he added.
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