President Lee Says, 'How Devastated He Must Have Been by Political Prosecutors' Indictment'

[Anchor]

Following the acquittal of former Democratic Party lawmaker Roh Woong-rae, who was put on trial on charges of receiving illegal political funds, in both the first and second trials, President Lee Jae-myung stated, "How devastating it must have been to face indictment by political prosecutors and the stripping of your political life," adding that he will ensure innocent citizens are no longer victimized by the abuse of state power. Democratic Party lawmakers targeted Representative Han Dong-hoon, who served as the Minister of Justice during the prosecution's investigation.

Reporter Kim Kwan-jin has the details.

[Reporter]

This was posted by President Lee Jae-myung on social media late the night before last (the 21st), immediately after former Democratic Party lawmaker Roh Woong-rae—who was indicted on charges of receiving 60 million won in bribes and political funds from a businessman—was acquitted in his second trial.

Referring to former lawmaker Roh as a "respected senior from my university," President Lee wrote, "You were indicted by political prosecutors and even had your political life stripped away by your party, so how devastating it must have been." He added, "I will definitely build a country where innocent citizens are never victimized by the abuse of state power again."

President Lee, who was the leader of the Democratic Party during the 2024 general election when former lawmaker Roh was cut off from nomination, also offered the explanation, "Because it was an election we had to win no matter what, we had no choice but to shed tears and exclude him from the nomination."

Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok claimed on social media, "This is a case where the prosecution framed and ruined an innocent person through fabrication."

The Democratic Party also raised the issue of accountability for independent Representative Han Dong-hoon, who was the Minister of Justice around the time the prosecution was investigating former lawmaker Roh.

[Shin Hyun-young / Spokesperson for the Democratic Party: It took a staggering 3 years and 9 months to correct the fabricated indictment and fabricated investigation by Han Dong-hoon's political prosecutors.]

They are particularly taking issue with remarks Representative Han made when explaining the motion to arrest former lawmaker Roh at the National Assembly while serving as the Minister of Justice at the time.

[Han Dong-hoon / Then Minister of Justice (December 2022): Even the voice of lawmaker Roh Woong-rae and the sound of money envelopes rustling are recorded as they are.]

[Roh Woong-rae / Former Democratic Party Lawmaker (December 2022): This is intentionally and maliciously neutralizing my right to defense, and I cannot help but doubt whether the transcript actually exists.]

Lawmakers such as Park Ji-won have sharply criticized Representative Han over his remarks regarding the "sound of money envelopes," demanding that he "make a profound apology."

(Photo: Yonhap News) (Video footage reported by Shin Dong-hwan and Lee Chan-soo | Video edited by Lee Seung-jin | Designed by Kim Han-gil)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.