The Democratic Party has warned the People Power Party against dragging President Lee Jae-myung into what it calls "absurd political disputes" regarding his comments on party deposit fees.
Han Byung-do, the party's acting leader and floor leader, stated during a Supreme Council meeting on July 20 that "President Lee expressed his opinion on the deposit fees as an individual party member." He added, "Have they forgotten that the People Power Party was reduced to a mere satellite office of the presidential office during Yoon Suk-yeol's administration?"
He emphasized, "While they were unable to act independently under Yoon, they now try to drag the opposition into political disputes by twisting words. President Lee's public comments on social media cannot be considered interference in party affairs."
Supreme Council member Hwang Myung-sun criticized, "Is the People Power Party unable to distinguish between party leadership elections and public office elections? Are they trying to interfere in our party's affairs?"
Hwang also stated, "We must restore the intent of the public election system for party leadership that President Lee advocates, and the party's election management committee must revert to previous standards to open doors wide for all candidates, including the youth."
Meanwhile, the election commission is set to hold a full meeting on July 21 to revisit the issue of deposit fees. Previously, the commission decided on deposit fees of 100 million won for party leader candidates and 50 million won for Supreme Council candidates, with a 50% reduction for candidates from outside the National Assembly. It is reported that during President Lee's tenure, the fees were 40 million won for party leader candidates and 15 million won for Supreme Council candidates.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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