""Lee's Lawyer Fee Sponsorship Is Illegal... Let's Help by Buying Books""
As the book by Kim Hye-kyung, spouse of former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, became a bestseller, Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the People Power Party, criticized it by asking, "Is this a parent-leader system?" He criticized the purchase campaign of Kim's book among Lee's hardcore supporters to help cover Lee's trial expenses.
On the 28th, Kwon said on social media, "The so-called 'Gaeddal,' an extreme support group of the Democratic Party, is conducting a campaign to buy Kim's cookbook 'Bap-eul Jieoyo' to help with Lee's lawyer fees."
He added, "The Democratic Party's supporters not only call themselves 'daughters' and refer to the leader as 'father,' but now they are even following the leader's wife," and asked, "Isn't this literally a 'parent-leader system'?" Kwon said, "North Korea cherishes Kim Jong-suk, wife of Kim Il-sung, as the 'Baekdu Female General,' and the current behavior of the Democratic Party is not much different," adding, "That's why I called the Democratic Party a copycat of the Workers' Party of Korea."
Kim's book 'Bap-eul Jieoyo,' published six years ago in 2018, ranked first in real-time bestseller lists at Kyobo Book Centre and Yes24 as of 3 p.m. that day. It ranked third in the comprehensive weekly chart on Aladin and second in the weekly chart on Interpark.
This was thanks to the recent suggestion by the progressive-leaning YouTube channel 'Saenal' to "buy the book to help with Lee's tight trial expenses." 'Saenal' posted on its YouTube community, "Lee attends trials three to four times a week, and the lawyer fees are not insignificant. It is illegal for politicians to receive sponsorship for lawyer fees." Along with the purchase link for Kim's book, they guided, "Let's help even through buying the book. The book has been restocked in bookstores starting today." As a result, a campaign to purchase Kim's book spread among Lee's hardcore supporters.
Lee is currently facing four trials with a total of seven cases and eleven charges, including violations of the Public Official Election Act. It is expected that a huge amount of money will be spent on assembling a legal team to respond to the trials. Additionally, with the party leadership election scheduled for August for his re-election as party leader, Lee must also pay a deposit of about 70 to 80 million won to the party to run in the election.
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