[Anchor]
Former President Park Geun-hye attended a lawmakers' retreat held by the People Power Party. Park urged the party to unite behind the leadership centered on Jang Dong-hyeok.
Reporter Kim Bo-min has the details.
[Reporter]
The People Power Party, which invited the former president—who was removed from office through impeachment—to the lawmakers' retreat yesterday (August 27), introduced her as follows:
[We welcome former President Park Geun-hye, who has safeguarded the values of liberal democracy in the Republic of Korea.]
Park's attendance at the retreat marks her first in 14 years since 2012, when she was the presidential nominee for the former Saenuri Party, and the first time ever for a former president.
[Park Geun-hye / Former President: There is a saying that a tiger's stripes are on the outside, but a person's stripes are on the inside.]
She began by noting that a person's character is not revealed on the outside and that trust is the most important element in politics, remarks that were also interpreted as a warning against "betrayal."
[Park Geun-hye / Former President: When fighting an enemy on the outside, there is no enemy as fearsome as division within our own ranks. In difficult times, we must unite as one around the leadership….]
Reactions among lawmakers attending the retreat sharply divided by faction regarding Park's remarks.
The pro-leadership faction, including leader Jang Dong-hyeok, welcomed the remarks, viewing them as bolstering the Jang leadership system by noting that Park also evaluated the "special counsel investigation into the National Election Commission" as a "result achieved through the leadership's struggle."
[Jang Dong-hyeok / Leader, People Power Party: The former president said it looks like the party leadership and floor leadership are currently cooperating well to lead the party….]
Meanwhile, non-mainstream faction members poured out critical responses, saying, "Public sentiment is not heading toward the leadership, and it seems the former president cannot make a proper assessment of reality," "I thought she would criticize leader Jang's disciplinary politics, so I am deeply disappointed," and "Many lawmakers attended because of the former president, but it has completely lost its meaning."
The Democratic Party of Korea targeted the ruling party, remarking, "There is no future for a political party that asks the main culprit of the state affairs scandal for the path of conservatism."
(Video by: Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video Editing: Lee Seung-jin | Design: Jang Seong-beom)
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