Lee Jun-seok Says, "The Party Will Discuss Expulsion if Kwak Sang-do Does Not Give up His Parliamentary Seat" after His Son Received 5 Billion Won in Retirement Pay

[경향신문]

People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok extends his greetings at a meeting with Congressman Gregory Meeks, chair of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, and Congressman Steven Chabot at the Capitol in Washington D.C. on September 24 (local time). Yonhap News (Courtesy of the People Power Party)

On September 28, People Power Party leader Lee Jun-seok spoke on the future of lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, who left the party after news got out that his son received 5 billion won in retirement pay from Hwacheon Daeyu, and said, “If he does not decide to resign his seat in the National Assembly, there will be discussions on parliamentary ethics committee procedures or expulsion.”

This day, Lee sat for an interview on the YTN radio show, Hwang Bo-seon’s Start a New Morning and said, “Even if Kwak is a lawmaker from our party, we will make sure that the party responds very strictly when it comes to his future.” He added, “The lawmakers on the floor are ready to cooperate at a level that meets the people’s demands, when it comes to this issue.”

When the host of the show asked if Lee thought it was right for Kwak to voluntarily step down from the National Assembly before any attempt was made to expel the lawmaker, Lee answered, “Of course. I think right now that is what the public wants.”

Lee said, “That Kwak’s son received 5 billion won is difficult for the general public to accept, even if it did include compensations for industrial accidents or such,” and further argued, “His (lawmaker Kwak) explanation is far lacking for it is difficult to understand, particularly from the perspective of the younger generation.”

Lee said, “In addition to an absolutely strong and quick response, we need to accurately identify the big picture involved in this situation,” and added, “How the project was designed under a public development project by the city of Seongnam and who permitted this big framework are more important.”

Lee continued and said, “Governor Lee Jae-myung argued that he designed the Daejang-dong development project, and the circumstances suggest that nearly a trillion won was exchanged in unfair profits.” He also said, “We need to quickly resolve the issue concerning Kwak’s son for the people to quickly get to the truth of the matter.”

Lee argued that a special prosecutor should investigate this issue. Lee said, “It will be very difficult for the police and Prosecution Service to investigate allegations concerning a strong presidential candidate from the ruling party ahead of the election,” and added, “The right thing to do is have a special prosecutor or an agency that can be more neutral properly identify the truth surrounding the allegations.”