Park Ji-won on Lee Jae-myung's First Trial Acquittal: "Overcoming Trials Will Make Him a National Leader"

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Park Ji-won, a member of the same party, congratulated Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, on being acquitted in the first trial on charges of witness tampering.

On the 25th, Park said on his Facebook, "I suggest we stop being swayed by every little thing and move forward with composure, focusing only on the people." Park, who served as Chief of Staff to President Kim Dae-jung, said, "Rough waves make a seasoned captain," adding, "Both President Kim Dae-jung and Trump came back alive." He continued, "'판판생생' (Panpan Saengsaeng), Lee Jae-myung's trial is a trial, and people's livelihood is people's livelihood," emphasizing, "The Democratic Party must become the rallying point of democratic forces and the hope of the people."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, spoke to reporters after the first trial sentencing hearing for the charge of 'suborning perjury' held at the Seoul Central District Court in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 25th. On that day, the first trial court acquitted Lee, who was indicted on the charge of suborning perjury. Photo by Joint Press Corps

Furthermore, he said, "If we overcome the current ordeal, Lee Jae-myung will become a leader of the people, and our Democratic Party will become a ruling party," adding, "We must unite around Leader Lee, a valuable asset of the Democratic Party, fight to the end, and surely hold the Yoon Gun-hee (President Yoon Seok-yeol and First Lady Kim Gun-hee) administration accountable."

Finally, Park emphasized again, saying, "Let's unite! Let's fight! Let's win!" and added, "Let's work while fighting and fight while working against the Yoon Gun-hee prosecution regime."

Earlier, the Seoul Central District Court Criminal Division 33 (Presiding Judge Kim Dong-hyun) held the first trial sentencing hearing for Lee's witness tampering charges at 2 p.m. on the 25th and acquitted him. The court stated, "It is difficult to interpret the phone conversations, in which the defendant repeatedly made one-sided claims and mentioned testimonies he needed, as conversations demanding perjury."

However, Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, said immediately after the verdict, "We respect the judiciary's decision, but there remains regret." It was reported that Choo originally planned to hold a back briefing immediately after the verdict but changed to releasing a written statement after the acquittal was announced.