The Democratic Party of Korea launched an all-out offensive ahead of Representative Lee Jae-myung’s first trial sentencing in November. Representative Lee directly attacked the Yoon Seok-yeol government and the prosecution, saying, “A ‘soft pro-military coup’ is underway under the guise of legality,” while Kim Min-seok, a senior member of the pro-Myung (pro-Lee Jae-myung) Democratic Party, joined People’s Power Party lawmaker Han Ki-ho and National Security Office Director Shin Won-sik. In response to the controversy over the ‘use of psychological warfare against North Korea’ text message, he continued his ‘new North Korean wind’ offensive by saying, “Under the criminal law, it is instigation of war, which is a crime of preliminary conspiracy to attract foreign exchange.” He continued his claim that a war situation is being created to cover up the suspicions of First Lady Kim Kun-hee, even mentioning the criminal law that states, “Anyone who secretly conspires with a foreign government or military to start a war will be sentenced to death or life imprisonment.”
The Democratic Party is preparing to gather up to 100,000 people, including active lawmakers, party officials, and citizens, for the ‘National Rally to Condemn Kim Kun-hee’s State Administration Mismanagement’ to be held near Seoul Station on the 2nd of next month. An opposition official said, “As soon as the Democratic Party finishes its audit of government affairs, it looks like it is starting to gather supporters and engage in public opinion warfare ahead of Representative Lee’s decision hearing scheduled for November 15th and 25th.”
● Lee: “Soft dictatorship in progress” ahead of first trial
Representative Lee appeared on ‘Alileo Books’, the Roh Moo-hyun Foundation’s YouTube channel, on the evening of the 25th and said, “The current situation is (like) a military dictatorship.” He added, “In the past, the method of pressuring people was by pouring water and electricity, focusing only on the parties involved.” “If there was pressure, these days it has changed to using warrants and public power to sell people around that person and their surroundings,” he said. He said, “(The two methods) have the same essence in that they satisfy desires and maintain power by persistently destroying a person,” and added, “I am also part of that process.” He claimed that the prosecution’s investigation into him is an extension of the ‘prosecution dictatorship’.
Supreme Council member Kim, who is in charge of the review headquarters for the investigation into Kim Kun-hee’s family’s corruption and government manipulation, held a press conference on the 27th and said, “We are concerned about the emergency situation in which a war crisis on the Korean Peninsula and a domestic martial law conspiracy are unfolding simultaneously ahead of the U.S. presidential election (November 5).” “An emergency response is needed,” he argued. Supreme Council member Kim has previously taken the lead in raising suspicions about the Yoon Seok-yeol government’s preparations for martial law. He recently responded to a message from a member of the National Assembly saying, “Let’s attack North Korean troops dispatched to Russia and use this as psychological warfare against North Korea,” saying, “I will take good care of it.” Taking issue with the content of the text message in which he replied, “We had an emergency countermeasures meeting today,” he requested an investigation into all those involved in the countermeasures meeting and an urgent investigation by the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office. He said, “(The text message in question) is a preliminary plot to attract foreign exchange and martial law designed to open the ground for a local war and move the flames of Ukraine to Seoul.” He said.
Regarding the government delegation headed by Hong Jang-won, First Deputy Director of the National Intelligence Service, dispatched to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) to share information on the North Korean military’s deployment to Russia, “We will send our troops (our troops) in a way that will accommodate NATO’s request.” ) He continued to raise suspicions about sending troops, saying, “There is a diagnosis that it is a build-up for the justification for sending troops.”
● Mobilize all party power for outdoor struggle
There is an analysis that the reason the party leadership is taking the lead in increasing the level of struggle targeting the President’s Office and the prosecution is due to concerns about Representative Lee’s looming ‘judicial risk’. A party official said, “We will divert the public’s attention and strengthen the party’s cohesion by emphasizing the Yoon administration’s corruption, security issues, and prosecutorial oppression.”
It is in the same context that the Democratic Party is mobilizing all party members and national provincial and provincial party committees for an off-site rally held on November 2nd. The Democratic Party recently announced to city and provincial parties across the country that they encourage attendance at rallies and report the number of attendees in advance. The policy is to use the opposing public opinion as a driving force to pass the third special prosecutor bill on Ms. Kim at the plenary session on November 14th, and if President Yoon rejects it, to proceed with a re-vote at the plenary session on the 28th.
Reporter Ahn Gyu-young kyu0@donga.com