Lee Jun-seok, leader of the Reform Party, took direct aim at independent lawmaker Han Dong-hoon on the 13th, saying, "I hope no one ever again exploits martial law, which remains a wound for the Republic of Korea, for their own political cover."
Speaking at a supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Lee said, "The people's wounds cannot serve as anyone's political nourishment."
Lee praised the testimony given by People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo, who appeared as a witness on the 8th at the trial of Daegu Mayor Choo Kyung-ho. Ahn testified to the effect that it was Han, who was party leader at the time, who instructed lawmakers to gather at party headquarters on the day martial law was declared. Lee called it "important testimony." "The weight of testimony sworn in court is different from a rebuttal on Facebook," Lee said. "I hope the court will make a clear judgment by taking such testimony into consideration."
Han is engaged in a dispute over the truth with Ahn regarding the circumstances at the time of the emergency martial law. Ahn claims that Han instructed lawmakers to gather at party headquarters during the martial law, while Han counters that the sequence of events has been distorted.
Lee continued, "The Dec. 3 martial law was a wound for all citizens of the Republic of Korea." He pointed out, "If someone within the very force that should accept that wound most humbly tried to use that wound as nourishment for their own politics, this is truly heartbreaking." Lee's remarks are interpreted as an indirect criticism of Han, who has stated that he took the lead in lifting martial law as leader of the People Power Party. Lee added pointedly, "I am wary of those who would even frame others for the sake of their own cover."
