"Lee Nak-yon's Support for Kim Moon-soo Was a Choice to Avoid the Worst"
Park Jie-won, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon, who paid a courtesy visit to former President Moon Jae-in, calling him an "opportunist." In response, Jeon Byung-hun, leader of the New Future Democratic Party, fired back, saying, "If anything, Assemblyman Park is the ultimate opportunist."
Former Prime Minister Lee Nakyeon shared a photo with former President Moon Jaein and his wife on his social networking service (SNS). Lee's Facebook
On September 16, Jeon wrote on his Facebook page, "Assemblyman Park labeling former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yon as an 'opportunist' is so absurd that even a passing cow would laugh," adding, "If we are to talk about political opportunism, there are few people as deserving of the title 'ultimate opportunist' as Assemblyman Park."
He continued, "It is truly nonsensical for someone who is the 'king of opportunists' to point fingers and accuse others of being opportunists," and added, "The only thing to do with such a statement is to reflect it right back."
Previously, Assemblyman Park had criticized Lee for posting a photo of his visit to former President Moon, calling it "an opportunistic act for his own political gain." On September 15, during an appearance on SisaIN's YouTube program "Kim Eunji's NewsIN," Park said, "Former President Moon probably met with Lee because Lee was his prime minister," and added, "If Lee truly cared about Moon Jae-in, would he have taken a cheerful photo together and posted it on social media?"
In response, Jeon stated, "What on earth is the problem with a simple greeting and a photo between the first prime minister and the president of the Moon Jae-in administration ahead of a holiday?" He continued, "There are more important things that the Democratic Party and senior politicians should be focusing on right now. We must defend the last bastion of democracy against the legislative monopoly and concentration of power by the majority party, as well as attempts to undermine the judiciary."
Regarding Lee's support for Kim Moon-soo, the then-presidential candidate of the People Power Party during the last presidential election, Jeon said, "It was not 'supporting evil' but rather a rational and conscientious decision to choose the lesser of two evils in order to avoid the worst-case scenario. We did our utmost to prevent Lee Jaemyung's judicial risks from escalating into national risks."
Jeon further criticized, "In the past, Assemblyman Park attacked Moon Jae-in (then leader of the Democratic Party) every single day after losing the party leadership race, even coining the term 'Moon Morning.' Was he not the one who eventually left the Democratic Party? I won't go into further details about his record, but for someone with such a history to even utter the word 'opportunism' is the height of hypocrisy and nothing more than spitting in his own face."
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