People Power Party lawmaker Lee Seong-kwon urged the Democratic Party of Korea to nominate Rep. Jeon Jae-soo as its Busan mayoral candidate, despite corruption allegations against him.
"The Democratic Party must select Rep. Jeon as its Busan mayoral candidate," Lee said on social media on Jan. 15, speaking ironically.
Lee criticized Jeon for launching his mayoral bid while still under investigation for allegedly receiving money from the Unification Church. "We must clearly show that someone with such arrogance cannot hold any public office in Busan, let alone a National Assembly seat," he said.
The ruling party lawmaker also attacked the Democratic Party's judicial reform legislation. "A Democratic Party lawmaker who had no qualification for public office is now trying to overturn his conviction using the judicial destruction laws that his party changed, on the very first day those laws took effect after the Supreme Court stripped his seat," Lee said.
"The Lee Jae-myung administration is fundamentally changing the national judicial system to nullify all crimes committed by President Lee," he added.
Lee expressed shame at his own party's inability to check what he called the administration's "wrongdoing." He said, "I am endlessly ashamed and sorry that the People Power Party is failing to properly restrain and block these evil acts."
Appealing to Busan citizens, Lee called for judgment against Jeon. "Busan has the strength to protect the nation whenever the country faces crisis," he said. "This arrogance of power must be judged and corrected. Only then can we stop the destruction of national systems occurring under the Lee Jae-myung administration."