Jang Dong-hyeok says Lee lives in his own universe, dismisses calls to resign

By Jung Seok-jun, The Herald Business

People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said Monday that President Lee Jae Myung's first-anniversary press conference confirmed that Lee "lives in a universe of his own," adding that Lee showed "not a shred of remorse" for citizens suffering under soaring real estate prices.

Speaking at a press conference at the National Assembly, Jang said Lee "stubbornly insisted the market was normalizing, not surging, and had the nerve to tout a property tax hike as proof that Seoul home prices were under control."

Jang also said Lee "called for making South Korea an irreplaceable industrial powerhouse through breakthrough industries, yet never once touched on the core tasks — industrial restructuring and labor reform."

He said Lee's declaration that he would proceed with a special prosecutor probe to nullify his trial amounted to "a de facto declaration of dictatorship — essentially saying he will do whatever he wants now that the election is over." Jang again urged Lee to abandon the special prosecutor push and allow his trial to resume.

On the ballot shortage that marred the June 3 local elections, Jang said Lee "must give a proper answer to the public's demand for by-elections," and warned that "a politics staked entirely on clearing Lee Jae Myung's name can neither revive the economy nor protect democracy."

Pressing his call for full by-elections, Jang said ballot shortages occurred at 67 polling stations nationwide and that it would be "a serious problem" if vote counting had already begun and results were being announced before polling had closed. "We do not yet know the extent of the irregularities at each station — that must be established," he said. "Dismissing reasonable questions and doubts as conspiracy theories is something that must end in a democratic society."

Jang said formalizing a by-election demand as party policy would require a full caucus meeting, but that the floor leadership position is currently vacant. "Once the floor leadership is in place, we will take up the discussion," he said.

On the prospect of an agreement with the ruling party, Jang said Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae had spoken in favor of a special prosecutor probe, and that he would take that as the Democratic Party signaling it would accept a special counsel investigation into the ballot shortage.

He said he had run into Jung just before the press conference outside the National Assembly members' office building. "Jung also said he agreed with a special prosecutor," Jang said. "He told me to accept a special counsel. I said we had been calling for one all along — including today — and he said, 'The Democratic Party has also been pushing for a special prosecutor, so why doesn't the PPP just say it accepts the idea?'"

On Lee's remark at the press conference that the National Assembly should resolve the question of prosecutors' supplementary investigative powers, Jang said he was not sure "whether that kind of statement from the president will actually land with the Democratic Party." He added that the PPP's position has been that the entire direction of the current prosecution reform is fundamentally wrong — not merely a question of supplementary investigative powers — making it difficult for him to judge whether the remark even warranted a response.

Asked about calls from within the party for his resignation, Jang turned the question back on reporters. "Looking at the objective data, how do you assess the results of this local election?" he said.