People Power Party Leadership Candidate Televised Debate
Debate Over Special Prosecutor and Party Member List
Cho Kyungtae and Kim Moon-soo Clash on How to Respond to Investigation
Concerns Raised About Constitutional Violations and Protection of Party Members
Representative Cho Kyungtae, a candidate for the People Power Party leadership, stated during the second televised debate held on the 17th, "Regardless of the administration-whether it is the Yoon Suk-yeol administration or the Lee Jae-myung administration-if a special prosecutor is legally appointed, we must comply." On August 13, the special prosecutor's team investigating Kim Keon-hee attempted to search and seize the party membership list at the central party headquarters in Yeouido but was unsuccessful.
Candidates running for the People Power Party leadership election are taking a commemorative photo on the 17th before the second television debate held at KBS in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
Kim Moon-soo, former Minister of Employment and Labor, during the sixth party convention leadership candidate debate held at the KBS main building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, in the afternoon, said, "The Lee Jae-myung special prosecutor raided the party headquarters to seize the list of five million members. After finishing a joint speech in Daejeon, I immediately began a sit-in protest that very night," demanding that Representative Cho clarify his stance on how to respond to the special prosecutor. Kim emphasized, "There is not a single criminal charge," and added, "To demand the list of five million members-such an outrageous and brutal act is unprecedented in the history of political parties worldwide."
Representative Cho responded, "One of the reasons for the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor is related to the Unification Church," and continued, "Of course, we must prevent any intrusion into the main opposition party, but we also need to consider who is responsible for causing this situation. It is someone connected to Kim Keon-hee."
He went on to say, "Do you know who said, 'Anyone who refuses a special prosecutor is a criminal'? It was former President Yoon Suk-yeol. Although the party leadership and the special prosecutor are in discussions, we must actively cooperate with the special prosecutor when there are clear indications of criminal charges."
He further pointed out, "Article 20, Clause 2 of the Constitution mandates the separation of religion and politics. Personally, I believe it does not matter which religion-Unification Church or otherwise-an individual chooses to join, as political freedom is guaranteed. However, if a specific religion is coercively or collectively admitted into the party under orders from higher-ups, that could constitute a violation of the Constitution."
When former Minister Kim asked, "If you become party leader and the special prosecutor comes to search the party and demands the list of five million members, will you hand it over?" Representative Cho replied, "Of course, we must protect our five million valuable party members," but stressed, "We must proactively respond to those who are suspected of criminal wrongdoing."
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