Democratic Party Says, "Jung Cheongrae Feels Sorry to the President for Vetting Failure in Independent Counsel Recommendation" (Comprehensive)

Supreme Council Members: "The decision-making system has collapsed"
Successive criticism of "betrayal of President Lee Jaemyung"

Regarding the recommendation of attorney Jeon Jooncheol, who had served as defense counsel for former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Sungtae in the "illegal remittance to North Korea case," as a candidate for the second comprehensive independent counsel, Jung Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed that he feels sorry to President Lee Jaemyung.

"A failure of vetting for not examining closely enough... We will work to prevent a recurrence"

On the 8th, Chief Spokesperson Park Soo-hyun held a press briefing at the National Assembly and said, "Representative Jung believes that, with regard to the presidential appointment authority exercised over the comprehensive independent counsel after comprehensively considering multiple factors, the controversy that has arisen constitutes a failure of the party’s personnel vetting, and he feels sorry for having caused trouble to the President."

He continued, "Even if the candidate recommended by the party had made efforts to resist and correct the wrongdoings of Prosecutor General Yoon Sukyeol’s prosecution service, and had been a prosecutor persecuted by Prosecutor General Yoon, our failure to examine him more closely was a vetting failure." He also said, "To prevent a recurrence, we will work to strengthen the party’s internal vetting procedures by diversifying the channels through which candidates are recommended, enhancing transparency, and separating the functions of recommendation and review."

Chung Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending a policy meeting of party lawmakers held at the National Assembly on the 5th. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Intensifying criticism within the party... Even calls for accountability emerge

President Lee is known to have expressed considerable displeasure over the ruling party’s recommendation for this round of independent counsel appointments. President Lee selected attorney Kwon Changyoung, recommended by the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, as the second comprehensive independent counsel instead of attorney Jeon.

Fierce criticism also erupted within the party. As it was reported that Supreme Council member Lee Seongyun, who is regarded as being within Representative Jung’s circle, had recommended attorney Jeon, even calls for "accountability" surfaced.

On Facebook, Supreme Council member Kang Deukgu said, "The fact that the recommendation was carried out solely by the leadership(?) without consultation with the Legislation and Judiciary Committee makes the gravity of the matter even heavier," adding, "Even I, a Supreme Council member, was not informed; how can we call this a 'government-party-presidential office' one-team?" He also said, "I cannot help but ask Representative Jung why such incidents keep recurring."

Supreme Council member Hwang Myungseon wrote on Facebook, "If the recommendation of an independent counsel candidate bypassed the Supreme Council and was made without any consultation with members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, this is a warning that the party’s decision-making system has collapsed," stressing, "The circumstances of the recommendation and the reasons for bypassing the Supreme Council and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee must be clearly disclosed, and those responsible must be strictly held to account."

Assemblyman Lee Geonta held a press conference at the National Assembly and said, "This is a betrayal of President Lee Jaemyung and a clear act of treachery against the Democratic Party’s official position," criticizing, "Did Representative Jung and Supreme Council member Lee recommend him even though they knew that he had been attorney Kim Sungtae’s lawyer?"

Assemblyman Lee Seongyun: "Unnecessary controversy arose, and it is entirely my responsibility"

Assemblyman Kim Yongmin, the ruling party secretary on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, also said, "When recommending an independent counsel, it is customary to consult with the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but there was no communication at all. The party leadership needs to explain," adding, "I am outraged that a problematic independent counsel was recommended without any sense of guilt." Assemblywoman Jeon Hyunhee wrote on Facebook, "This is no different from insulting the President, who is a victim of political prosecution," and urged, "The leadership must apologize to the President and the people, and take follow-up measures that party members can accept."

In the end, Assemblyman Lee Seongyun wrote on Facebook, "With regard to the recommendation of attorney Jeon, the fact that unnecessary controversy has arisen is entirely my responsibility," and added, "I received a request to recommend candidates for independent counsel and recommended two people, one of whom was attorney Jeon." He also said, "Attorney Jeon was a principled and competent prosecutor who was persecuted under the Yoon Sukyeol administration because he and I were involved together in investigations such as the 'Kim Keonhee stock manipulation case'," and posted attorney Jeon’s statement as well.

Lee Seongyun, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Yonhap News

In his statement, attorney Jeon explained, "The part of the case for which I served as defense counsel concerned the personal embezzlement and breach of trust committed by Ssangbangwool executives and employees, and it was entirely unrelated to the remittances to North Korea."