Lee shares interview video of former chief of staff

Cites 'judicial murder, political persecution' endured together

President Lee Jae Myung, then Democratic Party of Korea leader, walks out of the National Assembly's main chamber with Cheon Jun-ho, who was serving as his chief of staff, in 2023. [Yonhap]
President Lee Jae Myung, then Democratic Party of Korea leader, walks out of the National Assembly's main chamber with Cheon Jun-ho, who was serving as his chief of staff, in 2023. [Yonhap]

President Lee Jae Myung on Saturday publicly encouraged Cheon Jun-ho, a senior floor management official of the Democratic Party of Korea who served as his chief of staff when he led the party.

Lee shared on X a video of Cheon appearing on the party's YouTube channel "Minti07," writing that Cheon "became a target of politically motivated prosecutors and even received a summons simply for being by my side."

Lee added that Cheon had "worked hard as chief of staff, steadfastly staying by my side as we crossed the deep and turbulent river of the past several years — an attempted assassination, fabricated indictments aimed at judicial murder, and an unprecedented campaign of intense political persecution."

Lee also wrote, "There is still much to be done and many hills yet to climb, but as always, the hardest thing to bear is the arrows that fly from behind."

In the shared video, Cheon looked back on the September 2023 National Assembly vote that approved a motion to arrest Lee, then party leader, calling it "truly horrifying to think about even now." Lee's post was seen as an expression of solidarity with Cheon's recollection of that period.


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