Presidential Office Cites Rep. Lee's SNS for Explanation
Lee Jun-seok Launches Fierce Attack, Saying "Is It Beyond Deceptive and Cruel?"
Lee Jun-seok, a lawmaker from the Reform New Party, harshly criticized the Blue House's explanation regarding the recorded phone conversation between President Yoon Seok-yeol and Mr. Myeong Tae-gyun on the 31st, saying, "To make excuses like this in the current situation, even a sea anemone would respond better."
Earlier that morning, Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, held an emergency press conference where he revealed the contents of the phone call between President Yoon and Mr. Myeong, raising suspicions of a nomination deal. After disclosing the call from May 9, 2022, Park claimed, "This is irrefutable evidence that President Yoon illegally intervened in the nomination process and that there was a nomination deal, proving a serious matter that shakes the constitutional order."
In response, the Blue House stated, "At that time, President-elect Yoon had never received reports related to nominations from the Nomination Management Committee, nor had he ever instructed on nominations," adding, "The decision-makers for nominations at that time were Party Leader Lee Jun-seok and Nomination Management Committee Chairman Yoon Sang-hyun."
The Blue House introduced Lee's explanation shared on social media, saying, "Lee Jun-seok, then party leader, recently explained in detail via Facebook that the strategic nomination decision made by the Supreme Council was not problematic." Regarding the phone call between President Yoon and Mr. Myeong, the Blue House explained, "The conversation between the President-elect and Mr. Myeong was not particularly memorable or important; since Mr. Myeong kept talking about candidate Kim Young-seon’s nomination, the President-elect just responded politely."
Regarding the Blue House’s explanation, Lee Jun-seok said, "The Facebook content that was circulated to reporters in Yongsan, rambling on, is Lee Jun-seok explaining himself, but I was unaware that President Yoon was receiving reports from the Nomination Committee, nor did I know that such information was being conveyed to candidate-side officials," adding, "That is something you all should explain." Lee expressed displeasure at being mentioned in the explanation, as he himself does not know and cannot clarify whether President Yoon received nomination reports or introduced such matters to Mr. Myeong.
Furthermore, Lee condemned, "Those who planned to expel me by bringing me before the Ethics Committee a month after that point, where do they get off trying to make excuses by selling me out?" and added, "Beyond hypocrisy, are they now trying to show a heart of a beast with a human face (Inmyeonsusim)?"
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