Park Ji Won: "With Unprecedented Support, Lee Jae Myung Will Be Elected President Unless He Makes a Major Mistake"

"Lee Jae Myung Is Following the Path of Kim Dae Jung, Who Overcame the IMF Crisis"

Park Ji Won, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, commented on former party leader Lee Jae Myung, who was selected as the Democratic Party's candidate for the 21st presidential election, stating, "There is strong public sentiment that there must never again be an insurrection or a coup d'etat." He predicted, "Unless candidate Lee makes a significant mistake before the presidential election, he is likely to be elected without difficulty."

On April 28, during an appearance on BBS Radio's 'Shin In Kyu's Morning Journal,' Park described Lee's selection as the Democratic Party's presidential candidate with a 89.7% vote share as "unprecedented." He said, "The hearts of the party members and the public have united around the ideas of 'let's change the administration' and 'let's make Lee Jae Myung president' to put an end to insurrections." He argued, "If Lee broadens his appeal to embrace even moderate conservatives and implements warm policies that support marginalized and vulnerable groups, he will win the main presidential election as well."

The joint speech event for selecting the Democratic Party of Korea's 21st presidential election candidate for the Seoul metropolitan area, Gangwon, and Jeju was held on the 27th at KINTEX Exhibition Hall 2 in Ilsan, Goyang-si, Gyeonggi-do. Former party leader Lee Jae Myung, who was selected as the presidential candidate, is delivering his acceptance speech.

He went on to say, "Candidate Lee is already following in the footsteps of former President Kim Dae Jung," adding, "Former President Kim demonstrated leadership that brought about national unity, and the people participated in the gold-collecting campaign, enabling the country to overcome the foreign exchange crisis in the shortest time in history." He continued, "Currently, the economic and international conditions are much worse than during the IMF foreign exchange crisis. I believe that if Lee demonstrates political leadership to achieve national unity and gains public trust through a pragmatic approach, he will overcome the economic crisis."

Regarding former Prime Minister Lee Nak Yon’s criticism of candidate Lee’s legal risks, Park said, "They used to share meals and treated each other as brothers, but now he is particularly emphasizing the legal risks." He pointed out, "Former Prime Minister Lee was already judged by the people in Gwangju during the general election. He could not even return to his hometown." Park urged, "At the very least, return to the Democratic Party and join in changing the administration. Maintaining a critical stance from outside does not align with the identity of either his late father or himself."

On the speculation that Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck Soo might run for president, Park asserted, "Under no circumstances can he run."

He said, "Acting President Han served as prime minister for three years under the ringleader of the insurrection, Yoon Suk Yeol (former president). The president he served was impeached, so on what grounds could he run for president?" He added, "Recently, there has been talk of Acting President Han being the 'second Ban Ki Moon,' and apparently former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon is quite displeased about this. Although there may be ongoing discussions about unifying the candidates, he is already out of public interest. In this situation, Acting President Han absolutely cannot run."