"Lee denies and pushes into a den of malice, a despicable act of betrayal"
"No resignation for Lee Jae-myung as party leader"
"Successor floor leader to be elected before Chuseok holiday"
Jeong Cheong-rae, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, directly criticized the situation on the 22nd during the party's Supreme Council meeting, where the arrest motion against Representative Lee Jae-myung was passed the previous day, saying, "Members of the same party in the National Assembly betrayed their own party leader as if selling out the country."
At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Jeong said, "This is sleeping with the enemy. It is an intolerable act of betrayal to have been manipulated by the Yoon Seok-yeol prosecution dictatorship regime's political purge and opposition party suppression schemes."
He added, "We will take corresponding measures," emphasizing, "The Lee Jae-myung leadership will stand firmly by Representative Lee until the end."
He criticized the mass defection of Democratic Party members during the plenary session of the National Assembly the previous day, which led to the passage of the arrest motion against Representative Lee, saying, "There were internal enemies even during President Roh Moo-hyun's impeachment, and there were also factional forces that shook and left when Moon Jae-in was party leader. Yesterday, a vile act of betrayal took place that denied the leader elected with overwhelming support and pushed him into a den of malice."
The arrest motion against Representative Lee, which was put to a vote in the plenary session of the National Assembly the previous day, was passed with 149 votes in favor out of a total of 295 votes. There were 136 votes against, 6 abstentions, and 4 invalid votes.
For the arrest motion against Representative Lee to pass, a majority of 148 out of the 295 members present had to vote in favor. Along with 110 members of the People Power Party (excluding Foreign Minister Park Jin) who had already expressed support for the motion, 6 members of the Justice Party, Representative Cho Jung-hoon of the Transition Korea Party, Representative Yang Hyang-ja of Korea Hope, and independent members Ha Young-je and Hwang Bo-seung-hee, totaling 120 members, plus at least 28 members from the Democratic Party had to vote in favor for the motion to pass. Since 149 votes in favor were recorded, it appears that at least 29 Democratic Party members voted for the motion. Including 10 abstentions and invalid votes, the analysis suggests that 39 members defected.
Jeong said, "Timing-wise, this is neither coincidental nor a coincidence," adding, "It is a disgraceful old-style politics reenacted ahead of the general election." He continued, "Every action has a reaction, and politics does not always proceed as planned or as schemed. There are citizens watching with wide-open eyes and the sharp eyes of the times," emphasizing, "There will be no resignation of Representative Lee for anyone's benefit."
He stated, "Under Representative Lee's leadership, we will win the by-election for the Gangseo District Office and devote ourselves to winning the general election."
Jeong appealed to supporters to 'join the party.' He said, "As of 8:30 a.m. today, 4,231 people have left the party, while 7,176 people have joined, which is more than those who left," adding, "Both leaving and joining are expressions of love for the Democratic Party. Please join rather than leave." He further urged, "No matter how angry or despairing you are, please do not leave the party. Be a strong support and a shield for Representative Lee," and "Please stand by Representative Lee."
Park Kwang-on, the floor leader, did not attend the meeting as he had announced his intention to resign the previous day.
Jeong said, "We will elect a new floor leader as soon as possible, preferably before the Chuseok holiday," adding, "We will minimize the leadership vacuum and discuss with Representative Lee to promptly take stable measures for the party's political staff."
He also said, "When party members and National Assembly members fight, the party members win," and "Just as the people are eternal, the term of National Assembly members is short, and party members are eternal. The owners of the Democratic Party are the party members."
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