Lee Jun-seok's Blade Turns Toward Han Dong-hoon
Lee Jun-seok of the Reform Party on Monday again criticized independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon directly over the issue of an alliance between Han and Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, saying on CBS Radio, "There should be no one who schemes behind the scenes all the time." Speaking on CBS Radio's 'Park Sung-tae's News Show,' Lee said, "Who would like someone who schemes, keeps feeding strange things to reporters, and then goes on broadcasts talking without any sense of decorum?" It was his second jab in three days, after he targeted Han on the 23rd by calling him a "vulgar legal technician." Earlier that day, in an interview on YTN Radio's 'Jang Sung-chul's News Arena,' Lee had said of Han, "Mayor Oh has no intention of joining forces with a 'legal technician.'" At the time, he denounced "a certain 'vulgar legal technician' who recklessly flailed about trying to destroy others regardless of side, and ended up in this mess."
On the same program, Lee also pointed to the time the 'Myung Tae-kyun scandal' broke, saying there was "someone who followed the Democratic Party's lead and planted a hand grenade inside [the conservative camp] for their own political purposes." When the host remarked, "That reminds me of Rep. Han, because you made a similar comment on a previous broadcast," Lee replied, "I hope the politics of legal-types disappears," adding, "If listeners have a name in mind, it's probably that person."
Lee's criticism also extended to political culture in general. "Politics is like a boxing match," he said. "But there are always those who come out alone wielding a knife. I can't understand how political culture has come to this." He continued, "It's because those who made a hobby of stabbing people entered this boxing ring." When the host asked, "Are you saying it's because so many former prosecutors have entered politics?" Lee dodged a direct answer, saying he was "speaking in general terms."
Mayor Oh Se-hoon, who was indicted over allegations of illegally paying for opinion polls in the Myung Tae-kyun case, was fined 10 million won in the first trial — a penalty that invalidates his election — but was acquitted in the appeals court on the 23rd. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk, immediately after the acquittal, wrote the phrase "truth ultimately prevails" on social media and urged the special prosecutor to drop his appeal.
Mayor Oh continued building the conservative alliance on Monday with a dinner at the Seoul mayor's residence with Rep. Lee Jun-seok and other lawmakers from the People Power Party and the Reform Party. Also on Monday, Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun called on SBS Radio for a "grand conservative unification" including Lee, Han, and party leader Jang. Mayor Oh is scheduled to hold further dinners on the 27th with People Power Party lawmakers Kwon Young-jin, Eom Tae-young, Kim So-hee, Park Su-min, and Seo Myung-ok.
