Controversy Over 'Kim Jin-pyo Memoir' Spreads... "The Yoon I Know Would Be Like That," Lee Jun-seok Joins In

Park Hong-geun "Shared conversation with Kim Jin-pyo... There is a record"
Lee Jun-seok "Did you suspect leftist manipulation... Truly a bad president"

Political controversy is heating up as former National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo revealed in his memoir that "President Yoon Seok-yeol said the Itaewon disaster might have been a manipulated incident by certain forces." Earlier, the presidential office denied this, claiming that Kim distorted the conversation he had with President Yoon during a private meeting, but statements supporting Kim's claim have continued to emerge.

President Yoon Seok-yeol, who visited the National Assembly for the 2024 budget proposal and fund operation plan presidential policy speech, is seen conversing with Speaker Kim Jin-pyo of the National Assembly, People Power Party leader Kim Ki-hyun, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung, Acting Chief Justice Ahn Cheol-sang, and others during a preliminary meeting with the Assembly's leadership, ruling and opposition party representatives, and key officials on October 31 last year in the Speaker's office of the National Assembly. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

On the 28th, Park Hong-geun, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated on his Facebook, "As the floor leader of the ruling party at the time, I was well aware that former Speaker Kim tried to persuade President Yoon to dismiss Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min." He added, "Kim shared the conversations he had with President Yoon exactly as they were from the beginning." He further explained, "After the first dinner between President Yoon and the National Assembly leadership at the Yongsan Presidential Office on August 19, 2022, Kim called me for about 30 minutes the next morning and detailed the conversation with the president, including individual discussions. I still have that record as it is."

Park also pointed out, "While I was floor leader, I heard several times that President Yoon was obsessed with far-right YouTube channels," and criticized, "Considering that he did not dismiss Minister Lee Sang-min until the end, I suspect he might still believe the conspiracy theories spread by far-right YouTubers as facts."

Lee Jun-seok, a member of the Reform New Party, also harshly criticized President Yoon, calling him "a truly bad president." On his Facebook that day, Lee said, "If there is a president who, upon hearing about the Itaewon disaster, suspected a leftist conspiracy and failed to do what was necessary, then that person is unfit to be president." He added, "Some say the president would never do such a thing, but I firmly believe he would."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Former Speaker Kim recently published his memoir titled What Has the Republic of Korea Accumulated? 1961-2024, Reflecting on the Ten Governments of This Country. In the memoir, Kim wrote, "It was hard to believe that conspiracy theories from far-right YouTubers would come so easily from the president's mouth."

The controversial content came from a private meeting between Kim and President Yoon on December 5, 2022, at the Grand Intercontinental Seoul Parnas during the National Prayer Breakfast. Regarding the motion to dismiss Minister of the Interior and Safety Lee Sang-min, Kim advised President Yoon, "It would be appropriate for the minister to take political responsibility and offer his resignation."

In response, President Yoon reportedly said, "We cannot rule out the possibility that this accident was induced and manipulated by certain forces. If that is the case, it would be unfair to force the minister to step down," according to Kim's claim.

Meanwhile, the presidential office refuted the contents of Kim's memoir. The office stated the previous day, "It is deplorable that a former National Assembly Speaker would distort and publicize the private conversation he requested with the president at the National Prayer Breakfast." They added, "The president ordered the full disclosure of the 119 emergency call records at the time of the accident and recently boldly accepted the Itaewon Special Act."