Kwon Seong-dong "Lee Jae-myung Confesses Political Retaliation... Will Purge Opponents if in Power"

"When Lee Needs Unity, He Unites; When He Doesn't, He Purges at Any Time"

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, evaluated Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who made remarks implying that some party lawmakers had effectively colluded with the prosecution regarding the passage of his arrest consent bill in the 21st National Assembly, as "a confession of purging opposition factions."

At the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Floor Leader Kwon said, "Lee said a week ago, 'What is the point of digging into past events? If I become president, I will not engage in political revenge,'" adding, "Less than a week later, he confessed that he would seek political revenge by digging into past events."

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the 'Policy Tasks for the Healthy Development of the Virtual Asset Market' bipartisan meeting held at the National Assembly on the 7th. 2025.3.7 Photo by Kim Hyun-min

He continued, "Since the vote on the arrest consent bill was conducted by secret ballot, we can only guess who voted for or against it, and cannot verify the facts," and criticized, "However, Lee purged people based on mere guesses, as if they had been eliminated through a sudden nomination process."

He also criticized Lee's recent moves toward unification by meeting consecutively with members of the Byeongmyeong faction. Floor Leader Kwon said, "Lee says, 'The vitality of a political party comes from diversity,' but no one would believe such actions and words as they are," and directly attacked, "When he needs it, it is unification, but when he no longer needs it, Lee will brand them as an 'underground trading group' and purge them at any time."

He went on to question, "What would happen if a person who purges and takes political revenge driven by delusional vengeance even against lawmakers of the same party were to come to power?" and pointed out, "He would stain South Korea with 'bloody purges' and plunge the country into greater chaos."