On the 13th, the People Power Party attacked Justice Minister candidate Lee Yong-cheol, saying, "He is someone who should never be Minister of Justice," citing his past history of having his application for compensation for the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement rejected and his history of defending a heinous criminal who murdered his family.
At a floor committee meeting on this day, floor leader Jeong Jeong-sik said, "The fundamental cause of the many controversies related to this candidate lies with President Lee Jae-myung, who is the appointing authority. This is because the Minister of Justice the President wants is a 'minister tailored for prison escape.'" He added, "The only reason why President Lee nominated a person full of flaws as a candidate is the goal of canceling the indictment and the human relationship of the bone-headed Seongnam line."
He pointed out, "In order to carry out the unconstitutional and illegal act of directing the cancellation of indictments, one must have no legal expertise or conscience. The more you know the law, the more you realize that it is impossible for President Lee to escape from prison," and pointed out, "In reality, this candidate has no experience in prosecutorial investigations and trials."
In addition, "Candidate Lee claimed that he was involved in the May 18th Gwangju Democratization Movement when he was the legal secretary at the Blue House, and applied for compensation of 2.1 million won based on the fact that he was detained for participating in a protest on campus at Yonsei University in May 1980. It was rejected, and he was even willing to file a lawsuit, but ultimately lost in the Supreme Court." “Should I apply?” he criticized.
He continued, "This candidate touts his background as a human rights lawyer, but he defended a violent criminal who murdered his family and then incinerated the body, and spoke of a 'coercive investigation by the prosecution.'" He continued, "He made a moral pretense in front of others that he was a human rights lawyer, but defended a violent criminal behind the scenes, which is a truly shameless betrayal of antinomies."
Rep. Park Hyung-soo, the opposition secretary on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly, said, "In Candidate Lee's answer, he has not said that he will not cancel the indictment."
He continued, "The Minister of Justice is not in a position to resolve the president's personal criminal cases. This candidate must state to the public that he will not intervene in the president's trial using the results of the special prosecutor's investigation as a justification," and demanded, "If he cannot even reveal that position, he should voluntarily resign right now."
Chief Spokesperson Park Chung-kwon also commented in a commentary, saying, "The more candidate Lee is removed from office, the more he falls out of line with the public's expectations." He added, "Candidate Lee is an 'irreverent person' who 'doesn't know' about the Daejang-dong project, 'can't talk' about the cancellation of the indictment, and 'demands' compensation for May 18. This candidate should resign immediately."
In particular, he criticized the application for May 18 compensation, saying, "It is a matter of shame rather than a conflict of interest, as it is a matter of shame than a conflict of interest, as it is a case of reaching out from a position of power to a system that commemorates the sacrifice of Gwangju."
They also said, "While candidate Lee has been avoiding answering questions about the cancellation of the indictment in the presidential case for four days, it has been revealed through reports that the law firm founded by the candidate took on 57 Seongnam City lawsuits during the time of Seongnam Mayor Lee Jae-myeong," and demanded, "President Lee must admit his personnel failure and immediately withdraw his nomination."
On the 14th, the People Power Party will hold an outdoor rally in each region at the Busan Station Square, along with party members and citizens from Busan, Ulsan, and Gyeongnam, to condemn the forced implementation of the Lee Jae-myung prison escape law.
