Ruling Party Praises Kim Seung-won's Resignation as 'Self-Sacrifice'
Kim Seung-won, nominee for justice minister, held a press conference announcing his resignation on the 19th and stepped down voluntarily. The Democratic Party of Korea said it respects his decision while urging an investigation into allegations that Rep. Han Dong-hoon leaked investigation records.
As the nominee stepped down of his own accord, the ruling party portrayed it as 'a decision to spare the burden on state affairs' and expressed respect. Park Sung-jun, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, said in a written briefing that day, "We respect the nominee's determination not to add further burden to state affairs." Seo Yeong-kyo, chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, and Kang Deuk-gu, head of the Democratic Party Institute for Democracy, likewise said, "We respect his decision," and, "He acted like a true public servant who put the people ahead of his own personal interests," respectively. Rep. Park Ji-won wrote, "A model of self-sacrifice for the greater good."
Meanwhile, seizing on the nominee's resignation, the Democratic Party instead turned its criticism toward Rep. Han Dong-hoon. Jeon Yong-gi, the party's supreme council member, stressed, "The nominee's resignation does not justify every step of the process in which the allegations were raised," adding, "It must be thoroughly revealed where documents related to the investigation, such as the 'prosecution plan report' that Rep. Han disclosed, came from and how they ended up in Rep. Han's hands." Kang Deuk-gu also said, "The circumstances of how the documents were obtained must be thoroughly investigated." Supreme council member Han Min-soo argued, "The allegations that Rep. Han was involved in the leak of investigation records must be punished to the very end under a principle of zero tolerance." There were also calls that if non-public investigation materials were used politically, both the person who provided them and the person who used them must be held accountable under the law.
The Rebuilding Korea Party took the same stance. Spokesperson Park Byeong-eon said in a statement, "We offer words of comfort to Kim Seung-won, who decided to resign voluntarily out of consideration for the administrative burden on President Lee Jae-myung." He went on, "Even if there were parts the nominee needed to explain, the revival of Han Dong-hoon's 'investigation-material-driven politics' is deeply concerning," urging, "Let us block the attempted revival of 'investigation-material-driven politics' through the unity of the progressive camp."
