Park Jiwon: "Lee Jaemyung Cabinet Appoints Eight Incumbent Lawmakers... Likely to Be Very Successful"

Eight Incumbent Lawmakers in the Lee Jaemyung Cabinet
"Advantageous to Have Incumbent Politicians Who Have Listened to the People"

Park Jiwon, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, commented on President Lee Jaemyung's appointment of incumbent Democratic Party lawmakers as ministers, saying, "It seems likely to be very successful."

Appearing on SBS Radio's "Kim Taehyun's Political Show" on the 30th, Park said, "There are eight Democratic Party lawmakers in the Lee Jaemyung cabinet, and with three more lawmakers joining the presidential office, including the chief of staff and spokesperson, there are a total of eleven incumbent lawmakers." He made these remarks in this context. He also commented on President Lee's nomination of Democratic Party lawmaker Jung Sungho as candidate for Minister of Justice and Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Hojung as candidate for Minister of the Interior and Safety, saying, "Both of them are very reform-minded individuals." He continued, "President Lee must carry out the reforms demanded by the times, and the next year will be the most important," adding, "To achieve reforms in areas such as prosecution, national defense, and the economy, it is advantageous to have incumbent politicians who have listened to the opinions of the people."

Park Jiwon, Democratic Party of Korea. Photo by Yonhap News

Park also commented on a photo showing Kim Keonhee, wife of former President Yoon Sukyeol, leaving the hospital in a wheelchair after being hospitalized for depression ahead of a special prosecutor's investigation, saying, "This is a ploy to elicit public sympathy," and described it as "an attempt to provoke her support base." Previously, Kim had been hospitalized at Asan Medical Center in Seoul due to depression and other health issues, and was discharged in a wheelchair on the 27th after 11 days.

Regarding the request by former President Yoon's side to use the underground parking lot passage ahead of a summons for questioning, Park said this was an unreasonable demand. He added, "This is an attempt to delay the investigation and buy time," and emphasized, "This is not a ceremony to receive an award. He must appear for questioning tomorrow."

Meanwhile, Cho Eunseok, head of the special prosecutor's team for the insurrection case, has notified former President Yoon to appear on July 1. Park Jiyoung, deputy special prosecutor for the insurrection case, stated at a briefing the previous day, "We have received the opinions of former President Yoon's side regarding the summons schedule, and after considering all circumstances this afternoon, we notified him to appear at 9 a.m. on July 1." When asked by reporters whether failure to comply with the July 1 summons could be grounds for requesting an arrest warrant, Deputy Special Prosecutor Park replied, "If the reason for noncompliance is not acceptable, we have no choice but to proceed according to the procedures of the Criminal Procedure Act."