'Kim Seung-won could have exerted plenty of influence'
'Power stepped in and crushed the entire process'
Rep. Park Jung-hoon of the People Power Party said Wednesday that the ruling party is trying to "bury the essence of this case by continuing to raise questions about the source" of the information independent Rep. Han Dong-hoon used to make his allegations.
Park made the remarks that day on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Sisijipjung," a current-affairs talk show. "The essence of this is simple," he said. "If this comes to light, various forms of power-related corruption could be exposed, which is why I believe the Democratic Party of Korea is focused on questioning where the source came from that let Rep. Han speak out."
He added, "I do not think attacks that assume the source is prosecutors and suggest, 'Rep. Han is doing what he used to do because he's a former prosecutor,' will resonate much with the public."
Park said the public is more focused on the relationship between Rep. Kim Seung-won and Yang Su-jin than on the source of the material. "People are more interested in why this happened in the first place. Where Rep. Han got the material is a secondary concern," he said. "Rep. Kim Seung-won was his party's lead negotiator on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. He was in a position to exert plenty of influence. As a ruling party lawmaker at the time, he could have influenced the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety as well."
He went on to say, "Because this was a wrongful case, many people have concerns about it, and those who share those concerns are speaking out through various channels." He added, "If there is a problem, shouldn't it be discussed? Rather than focusing on whether an investigation plan was leaked, shouldn't we be paying more attention to the massive corruption at the heart of this?"
Regarding Kim's claim that the matter was a public-interest complaint, Park criticized it, saying, "Rep. Kim knew that passing this could generate enormous amounts of money. He even sent his own donation account asking for money to be sent. There is more than enough room to view these actions as bribery."
He also said, "The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety said there was a problem and asked for the materials to be resubmitted. That was the situation everyone was waiting on." He explained, "In the meantime, power stepped in and crushed the entire process."
Park predicted that the government and ruling party would push through Kim's appointment as justice minister. "Judging by the current mood, it looks like they will push through the appointment," he said. "They are calling it a second Cho Kuk affair."
He added, "President Lee Jae Myung has no choice but to feel pressure that he will have to go to prison once he leaves office," and went on to say, "There is clearly a plan in place to appoint Kim Seung-won as minister by any means necessary and get his own indictment canceled."
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