Lee Jae-myung Apologies for Envelopes of Cash Linked to Party Convention and Requests Song Young-gil to Return Early from Overseas Trip

Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung stands up from his seat during a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council at the National Assembly on April 17 and apologizes to the nation for the envelopes of cash that were allegedly handed out ahead of the party convention in 2021. Bak Min-gyu, Senior Reporter

On April 17, Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung apologized for the envelopes of cash that were allegedly handed out ahead of the party convention in 2021. Lee announced that he asked former party leader Song Young-gil to return from an overseas trip earlier than scheduled.

In a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council at the National Assembly Monday, Lee Jae-myung said, “I would like to say that our Democratic Party is taking this issue seriously, and as the party leader, I deeply apologize to the citizens for causing concern.” Lee got up from his seat and bowed.

Lee said the party would work to uncover the accurate truth and to resolve the matter and added that he asked Song Young-gil to return to South Korea earlier than scheduled. Lee said, “When it comes to this issue, the party is clearly restricted in its attempt to identify the facts,” and asked the investigative agency to conduct a swift and fair investigation leaving out any political consideration.

Lee further said, “The Democratic Party will do its utmost to fulfill our responsibility and take measures according to the verified facts. We will take the latest issue as an opportunity to be born again and establish measures to fundamentally prevent such incidents from recurring.” He also said, “As a political party of the Republic of Korea with unlimited responsibility to uphold a democratic republic, we apologize to the citizens for the disappointment and for causing concern.”