Even After Kim Seung-won's Fall, the PPP Presses On With Blaming Cheong Wa Dae
Even after the withdrawal of former Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won, the People Power Party (PPP) has kept up its offensive holding Cheong Wa Dae responsible for the personnel vetting failure, seeking testimony at the National Assembly's audit and stepping up outdoor rallies on the 21st in a bid to seize control of the political agenda. At the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly that day, Chairman Jang Dong-hyuk singled out Kim Hyun-ji, Cheong Wa Dae's first deputy chief of staff, as the force behind the nominee's resignation, saying, "Kim must be summoned to testify at the National Assembly audit." Floor Leader Jeong Jeong-sik also预告ed the party's push for her as a witness, saying, "Talk keeps surfacing that Deputy Chief Kim and Jeong Jin-sang, former political affairs coordinator under the Democratic Party chairman, were the masterminds behind this cabinet reshuffle."
The party also brought allegations of pressuring broadcasters into its offensive. Kim Jang-kyum, head of the party's special committee on press freedom and a National Assembly member, alleged at a morning press conference that a aide to a Democratic Party lawmaker on the Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee called KBS to protest its coverage of the petition cited as the backdrop for the nominee's resignation. At an afternoon press conference, he demanded, "I ask Han Joon-ho, secretary-general of the Democratic Party's committee: was it an aide to your office who called KBS?" adding, "Don't hide behind your staff—answer directly to the people." He went on, "If improper interference with news coverage is confirmed, we will hold those responsible legally and politically to the very end."
The party slammed the door on constitutional revision discussions. Rep. Na Kyung-won, in a CBS radio interview, dismissed the Democratic Party's launch of a constitutional revision task force as a mere "diversion tactic," drawing the line by saying, "Under the current circumstances, where the Democratic Party unilaterally dominates the National Assembly, healthy discussion of constitutional revision is difficult."
On the 22nd, just before the Chuseok holiday, the PPP will hold a "National Report on the Failures of the Lee Jae-myung Government" on the steps of the National Assembly main building. It is also reported to have completed filings for weekly downtown rallies every Saturday starting next month on the 3rd. Chief Spokesperson Park Sung-hoon said the event will address issues including real estate, stocks, and the revoked special counsel appointment. He expressed hope that a condensed presentation of the various issues would convey the public's unified anger as the sentiment surrounding Chuseok. He added that the dates and schedule of the rallies were conclusions reached after ample consultation between the party chairman and floor leader, and that the two would work to channel public anger into a single force based on their strong unity.
