"Park Chunghee was also accused of being a dictator, but only tried to dominate the legislature"
"Lee Jaemyung is likely the most extreme in attempting to take control of the judiciary"
Lee Junseok, the presidential candidate of the Reform New Party, stated on May 31, "I will stand in the way of Lee Jaemyung, the Democratic Party candidate who is attempting to establish a dictatorship."
During a campaign rally at Wolmido Pier in Jung-gu, Incheon on the same day, Lee said, "Former President Park Chunghee was also accused of being a dictator in the past, but at most, he tried to dominate the legislature by creating the Yushin Jeonguhoe. However, it is Lee Jaemyung who is going the furthest by attempting to take control of the judiciary."
He continued, "He already has a majority in the legislature, and he is saying that if he becomes president, he will appoint a special prosecutor for the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. If the separation of powers collapses, democracy will collapse, and so will the Republic of Korea."
He emphasized, "Lee Jaemyung should not become president, but he is already prioritizing retaliation, talking about ending rebellion and so on. We must judge Lee Jaemyung, who shamelessly keeps talking about suppressing his political opponents."
He also criticized, "They are trying to expel a National Assembly member simply because I discussed, in a moderated form during a broadcast debate, comments (online posts) made by Lee Jaemyung's son that are difficult to even mention. This is what the Democratic Party is like. They use power to suppress and silence their political opponents."
After the rally, Lee told reporters, "Every time I visit a campaign site, there is a strong sense of crisis among citizens regarding Lee Jaemyung's attempts to cover up his son's faults and the Democratic Party's behavior of trying to expel a National Assembly member, a constitutional institution. If you give your precious vote to Lee Junseok to stand against the dictatorship of Lee Jaemyung, I will repay you."
Regarding Lee Jaemyung's claim that "Lee Junseok manipulated the comments to make them appear as sexual expressions" in relation to the controversy over his son's online posts, Lee Junseok pointed out, "If people simply search for the crime list from Lee Jaemyung's son's indictment on the internet, they will find the content. I hope he does not try to cover up the sky with his palm."
He added, "The Democratic Party's rush to expel a National Assembly member shows a fundamental lack of understanding of democracy and is an insult to the voters of Dongtan (the district). It is an attempt to run the country with a narrow-minded perspective, and it is shameless behavior."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
