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Ruling Party Rivals Clash Over Ex-President's Remarks
🇰🇷 South Korea /Elections & Politics

Ruling Party Rivals Clash Over Ex-President's Remarks

From Dong-A Ilbo · () Korean

Translated from Korean, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Sources not specified In the courts
  • A political dispute has erupted between ruling party candidates Park Min-sik and Han Dong-hoon over a remark by former President Lee Myung-bak.
  • Park interpreted Lee's "good person vs. bad person" comment as a call to defeat those who have undermined conservative values.
  • Han's camp claims Lee's statement was intended for the opposition, not for internal party rivals, calling Park's interpretation "absurd."

A political spat has broken out between two ruling party candidates, Park Min-sik and Han Dong-hoon, concerning a recent statement made by former President Lee Myung-bak during a campaign visit to Busan. The controversy centers on Lee's remark urging supporters to "fight to the end" and for "good people to win when fighting bad people."

The president's words are a solemn command to defeat those who have shaken the values of conservatism.

— Park Min-sikInterpreting former President Lee Myung-bak's 'good vs. bad' remark as a directive against internal party rivals.

Park Min-sik, a candidate for the Busan Buk-gap parliamentary by-election, interpreted Lee's words as a stern directive to defeat individuals who have destabilized conservative values. Park stated on Facebook that the former president's message was a "solemn command" to overcome those who have caused difficulties for the People Power Party and brought joy to the Democratic Party. He further criticized "bad politics" that distort public sentiment, warning that if such politics masquerades as conservatism, the party will sink back into a mire.

However, Han Dong-hoon's camp swiftly refuted Park's interpretation. Kim Jong-hyuk, a former supreme council member aligned with Han, cited a person who accompanied Lee to Busan. This individual reportedly clarified that Lee's "good vs. bad" comment was directed at defeating the Democratic Party, not at internal rivals like Han Dong-hoon. Kim expressed bewilderment at Park's portrayal of Lee's statement, suggesting it was twisted to imply Lee viewed Han as the "bad candidate."

The person who accompanied former President Lee to Busan contacted me. He said that when MB said 'good people fighting bad people, you must win,' he meant winning against the Democratic Party, but Park Min-sik is talking as if MB said Han Dong-hoon is a bad candidate, which is absurd.

— Kim Jong-hyukRefuting Park Min-sik's interpretation of Lee Myung-bak's statement on behalf of Han Dong-hoon's camp.

Kim further alleged that Lee's visit was primarily to support Mayor Park Heong-joon, not Park Min-sik. He added that Park Min-sik allegedly sought out Lee for photos and insisted on sitting next to him at meals. Kim challenged Park Min-sik to reveal the true meaning of Lee's words and questioned the appropriateness of such tactics, asking if Park felt "too ashamed" given the circumstances.

Even if you are desperate, isn't this too shameful?

— Kim Jong-hyukQuestioning Park Min-sik's political tactics in leveraging Lee Myung-bak's statement.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by Dong-A Ilbo in Korean. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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