Kim Min-seok on Shincheonji Controversy: "Sorry to Party Members, Full Disclosure Would Also Pose Problems"

▲ Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok speaking at a Supreme Council meeting

Democratic Party Leader Kim Min-seok said today (November 5) regarding allegations of Shincheonji members joining the party, "Even if we had opted for full public disclosure, there would still have been the same or even greater varied issues internally."

Appearing today on the Democratic Party's YouTube program "Minti 07," Kim made the remarks in response to a question about internal party friction over the allegations, stating, "Pushback will exist from any angle and could even grow larger."

Regarding calls from the pro-Jung Chung-rae faction holding leadership accountable for raising the Shincheonji allegations, Kim said, "Apart from the process of institutionally overcoming party concerns regarding the Shincheonji issue, I believe the issue of accountability over whether this was raised without substance or grounds can naturally be sorted out as we reach a conclusion," adding, "I am not deeply concerned."

He continued, "The core matter will take some time," but added, "Because lawmakers accepted it for now at the general meeting of lawmakers, we will proceed through the remaining steps."

Earlier, Kim proposed at the general meeting of lawmakers that the party pursue internal self-cleansing efforts and institutional improvement procedures to eliminate concerns over religious interference in politics, and stated that lawmakers had reached a consensus on the matter.

However, internal strife within the party continues, with the pro-Jung faction demanding a public apology from Kim.

Sharing his thoughts, Kim said, "First of all, I feel both sorry and grateful to our party members," adding, "To speak frankly, I feel deeply uncomfortable."

He stated, "I felt uncomfortable when the Shincheonji issue was first raised, and the same goes for the process of investigating it," adding, "The issue of religious interference in politics itself is truly not easy."

He added, "Some say, 'Couldn't this just be handled through an investigation?' but even so, there are difficult issues," explaining, "Since we have embarked on a process of examining concerns through internal reviews in a relatively less shocking and orderly manner, and working on how to improve institutionally and overcome this with the party's own capabilities, I intend to resolve it through this process."

Meanwhile, Kim reiterated that the party has settled on a stance toward deferring taxation on virtual asset income, which was scheduled to take effect next year.

Regarding the deferral of the tax implementation, Kim explained, "We reached a final consensus that entering into taxation without enacting the law related to the basic framework, the Framework Act on Digital Assets, poses various unreasonable issues, and that it is appropriate to first enact the law and begin after a period of becoming accustomed to it under that law," adding, "We have conveyed that position to the government."

(Photo: Yonhap News)

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