We need to reinstate the lottery for the sake of fairness… It’s been a common practice to do it together
“Spending money on elections and black propaganda also destroy democracy”
On the 10th, when it was revealed that party leader Han Dong-hoon was opposing the reinstatement of former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyung-soo, People Power Party lawmaker Kwon Seong-dong, a member of the pro-Yoon Seok faction, claimed, “This is ignoring President Yoon Seok-yeol.”
Rep. Kwon said in a phone call with Newsis that day, “From a fairness standpoint, former Governor Kim should be reinstated,” and explained, “When it comes to pardoning figures from the political world, when pardoning figures from the ruling party, it has always been the practice of all past administrations to pardon figures from the opposition party as well, for the sake of balance and fairness.”
Rep. Kwon said, “The logic that former Governor Kim’s ‘Druking’ case should not be pardoned because it is a destruction of democracy does not hold up,” and countered, “(Among election crimes), spending money is a destruction of democracy, and spreading false information and black propaganda is also a destruction of democracy.”
He said, “All the ruling party figures implicated in the National Intelligence Service comment scandal have been pardoned on a large scale,” and “In the interest of fairness, former Governor Kim should also be reinstated.”
Meanwhile, an official from Representative Han’s side explained in a phone call with Newsis, “I understand that Representative Han is against (the reinstatement of former Governor Kim),” and “it is because (after the Druking incident) there has been no reflection, admission, or apology.”
It was reported that the Ministry of Justice’s Pardon Review Committee (Pardon Review Committee) included former South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyeong-soo and former Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Cho Yoon-sun in the list of special pardon recipients for Liberation Day the day before.
Former Governor Kim was sentenced to two years in prison by the Supreme Court in July 2021 for the Druking comment manipulation case, and was pardoned in December 2022 as a New Year’s special pardon, but was not reinstated. As a result, his right to run for office was restricted until December 2027.
People Power Party senior spokesperson Kwak Gyu-taek met with reporters the previous day and said, “Even though former Governor Kim was convicted in the past, if he is able to engage in political activities through reinstatement, I believe that in itself will be the beginning of a path toward cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties.”
However, the People Power Party’s public relations office later stated in a press release, “The party’s position on former Governor Kim’s reinstatement has not been decided. As the government is reviewing it, the party will carefully monitor the situation.” The mood changed in the afternoon.
[서울=뉴시스]
2024-08-11 02:22:35