PPP Calls 'Salmon Drinking Party' Allegations a 'Fraud,' While DP Claims 'Illegal Prosecution'

[Anchor]

The ruling and opposition parties have offered diametrically opposed interpretations of the court's first-instance ruling. The People Power Party (PPP) argued that the "salmon drinking party" allegations were a grand fraud against the public, while the Democratic Party (DP) emphasized the parts where the indictment was dismissed, claiming it exposed illegal investigations by the prosecution.

Reporter Park Chan-beom has the details on the political reaction.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party launched an offensive, stating that as the first-instance court found former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young guilty of perjury regarding his "salmon drinking party" claims, the ground for "false agitation and conspiracy theories" has vanished.

The party argued that "the absurd lies of the former vice governor were the core script of the Democratic Party to frame the entire Ssangbangwool illegal remittance case as a fabricated investigation by the prosecution."

[Park Soo-young/Chief Spokesperson of the People Power Party: It has been clearly revealed that the 'fabricated investigation' frame pushed by the major opposition party and President Lee Jae-myung, which undermined the foundations of democracy, was nothing but a grand fraud against the public.]

Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik sharpened his criticism, stating, "The core basis for the Democratic Party's demand for the dismissal of the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's North Korea remittance trial has collapsed," and added, "They must abandon their obsession with the dismissal of the indictment."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party countered that the People Power Party is misleading public opinion, asserting that "the essence of this ruling is that all other core charges, including violations of the Political Funds Act and abuse of power—excluding the perjury charge—were either acquitted or the indictments were dismissed."

[Lee Ju-hee/Floor Spokesperson of the Democratic Party: This proves that the suspicions of illegal investigation and fabricated statements have been acknowledged to a significant extent. The true face of this ruthless political maneuvering has been exposed through the judicial judgment of dismissing the indictment.]

Floor Leader Han Byung-do emphasized that "the prosecution's clear abuse of authority, as described by the court," is "a confirmation by the court that the prosecution of the previous administration targeted President Lee Jae-myung and his associates, wielding their swords to fabricate crimes that did not exist."

Regarding the guilty verdict on the "salmon drinking party" claims, the Democratic Party stated that "the jury verdict was narrowly split 4 to 3," adding that "there is a need to re-examine the case through an appeal."

(Video coverage: Kim Yong-woo | Video editing: Park Ji-in | Graphics: Han Heung-soo, Jeon Yu-geun)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.