Han Dong-hoon publicly rebuts Choi Min-hee's court remarks on social media

"A president on borrowed time, where the trial alone seals his fate." That was what independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon wrote on Facebook on the 14th. It followed the reporting of a recording in which Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker Choi Min-hee, speaking at a private party-member meeting last month about former President Yoon Suk-yeol's trial for violating the Public Official Election Act, said, "The president's election law trial and Yoon Suk-yeol's current trial are exactly the same." Choi immediately pushed back against Han's post on social media, sparking a war of words between the two.

Han argued that day, "Choi is right," adding, "Once the trial opens, President Lee becomes a president on borrowed time with a disqualifying guilty verdict." He said, "Former President Yoon was sentenced to a disqualifying verdict at the appeals court, and the Supreme Court's third-instance review remains, so his guilt could still be reversed. But President Lee's case was remanded on a Supreme Court full-bench ruling pointing toward conviction, so there is no chance whatsoever that the guilty outcome will be overturned."

Choi countered, "Han Dong-hoon, stop lying," saying, "The courts may treat the two trials as equivalent, but Yoon Suk-yeol's appellate conviction is a certainty, while President Lee's appellate acquittal was overturned through a forced remand in what was a manipulated trial under Chief Justice Jo Hee-de."

Han posted again, pointing out, "This is completely different from what Choi said in her own recording." He added, "I understand the desperate urge to walk back her remarks after being berated by pro-Lee politicians, but with the 'Choi Min-hee audio recording' already aired on broadcast, carrying on like this is rather unseemly."