"Treating All Party Members as Criminals... Search and Seizure for Political Maneuvering"
"Cannot Comply with Search and Seizure... Will Consider Every Possible Measure to Fight Back"
Song Eon-seok, the interim leader and floor leader of the People Power Party, strongly criticized the special prosecutor Min Jung-ki's team for conducting a search and seizure at the party's central headquarters on August 13, as part of an investigation into allegations related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee. He stated, "I cannot contain my anger at the brutal and ruthless oppression of the opposition by the Lee Jae-myung administration, which is using the special prosecutor as a front."
At an emergency briefing held prior to a joint convention speech at Paichai University in Seo-gu, Daejeon, Song claimed, "The Lee Jae-myung administration has resorted to this search and seizure as a means to shift the political landscape through the special prosecutor, as it faces a political crisis over the Lee Chun-seok Gate and the pardon of Cho Kuk."
Song further asserted, "It is unprecedented and utterly outrageous to conduct a search and seizure at the party's central headquarters, the heart of the party, fully aware that the party convention is underway." He raised his voice, saying, "This is nothing short of gangster-like behavior, reminiscent of the so-called Yongpal-i Incident."
On the morning of August 13, the special prosecutor's team dispatched investigators to the People Power Party's Yeouido headquarters to secure electronic data necessary for the investigation. The team demanded the submission of the full party membership list, which comprises approximately five million members, but the party has so far refused to comply.
Kwak Gyu-taek, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, told reporters at the party headquarters, "Demanding the entire membership list is tantamount to treating all party members as criminals and is a dangerous idea that would infringe upon citizens' personal information." He added, "At this time, our position is that we cannot comply with the special prosecutor's search and seizure."
The People Power Party plans to seek various countermeasures, including an indefinite sit-in at the National Assembly. Song emphasized, "If the special prosecutor is acting as part of a grand scheme to annihilate the main opposition party, we will have no choice but to consider every possible measure and fight back with all our strength."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
