Lee Cheol-gyu "Not Targeting Bae Hyun-jin"... On Recording Release, "No Comment"

Lee "'They said they have not started politics'"
Bae "Should have said 'No' when the host asked"

Lee Cheol-gyu, a member of the People Power Party, clarified that the person he criticized in relation to rumors about his candidacy for floor leader was not Assemblywoman Bae Hyun-jin.

On the 9th, after finishing the elected members' meeting at the National Assembly, Lee told reporters that when asked in a previous media interview if he was targeting Assemblywoman Bae, he replied, "No," and countered, "Is she a first-term lawmaker, a political newcomer?" The day before, Lee had claimed in an SBS radio interview that some party figures who publicly urged him not to run for floor leader had personally requested his candidacy, saying, "Is this politics? Seeing people who haven't even started politics say such things made me somewhat concerned."

Lee Cheol-gyu, Member of the National Assembly of the People Power Party [Photo by Lee Cheol-gyu's Office, Yonhap News]

He explained that his phrase "people who haven't even started politics" in the interview referred to first-term elected members, so it was not a remark about the re-elected Assemblywoman Bae. When the interviewer asked, "Are you referring to Assemblywoman Bae Hyun-jin?" Lee responded, "I won't mention specific names," adding, "You can guess from what I said," and "There was such an elected member," which sparked controversy. Those who publicly opposed Lee's candidacy for floor leader within the party included Assemblywoman Bae, Assemblymen Yoon Sang-hyun and Ahn Cheol-soo, and elected member Park Jeong-hoon.

Since Lee did not disclose specific names, media reports quickly suggested that his remarks targeted Assemblywoman Bae, who is part of the same 'Pro-Yoon' (Pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) faction and had urged him not to run. In response, Assemblywoman Bae expressed displeasure and released a recorded phone call in which she discouraged Lee from running.

Post uploaded by Assemblywoman Baek Hyun-jin on the afternoon of the 9th on SNS [Image source=Captured from Assemblywoman Bae's Facebook]

On the 8th, Assemblywoman Bae posted on her social media, "Lee Cheol-gyu, this person is really struggling. Even after enduring so much and taking the blame for him multiple times, he shows no remorse, so there is no way to deal with this," and drew a clear line, saying, "The claim that I encouraged Lee Cheol-gyu to run for floor leader by phone but said otherwise on Facebook is not true. Absolutely not." She continued, "Lee Cheol-gyu is a veteran intelligence detective. He knows better than anyone how ambiguous answers like that can cause misunderstandings and generate news articles. Was he dreaming of revenge against all of us who opposed his candidacy, including me?"

Regarding the release of the recorded call, Lee dismissed it, saying, "소이부답 (笑而不答; smiling but not answering)," and added, "I have nothing to say," and "There is no reason to engage in conversation."

In response, Assemblywoman Bae posted again on social media, criticizing, "He should have immediately said 'No' when the radio host asked if it was Assemblywoman Bae Hyun-jin," and added, "Now that everything is exposed, he says 'It wasn't Bae Hyun-jin' and cowardly shifts the blame to some powerless first-term elected member."