Representative Ahn Cheol-soo of the People Power Party, viewed as a potential presidential candidate, demanded on the 23rd the 'political retirement' of Lee Jae-myung of the Democratic Party.
On this day, Representative Ahn held a press conference at the National Assembly's communication center and pressured, 'Stop now and retire from politics. What on earth are you trying to become the president for?'
Representative Ahn pointed out, 'Representative Lee is already a criminal with four previous convictions and a subject of 12 criminal allegations,' adding, 'Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees the public's right to know. Running for president while legal judgments regarding these 12 allegations have not concluded contradicts the fundamental spirit of democracy.' He emphasized, 'The most fundamental aspect of democracy is that voters choose candidates when they know all information about them.'
Representative Ahn criticized, 'Forcing the public to vote and make selections in a situation where there is an ongoing trial, and it is unknown whether the outcome will be guilty or not is an act of deceiving the public.' He stated, 'This is an anti-constitutional act that violates democracy, and Representative Lee's candidacy itself is 'a violation of the Constitution.'
In particular, Representative Ahn pointed out that the Democratic Party's proposal for impeachment against Acting President Choi Sang-mok serves no purpose other than 'creating a President Lee Jae-myung.'
He noted, 'Among the impeachment motions proposed by the Democratic Party, there has not been a single instance of the Constitutional Court accepting them,' implying, 'This means it is a 'shoddy impeachment motion' that has only paralyzed the government.' He continued, 'Despite this, Representative Lee feels no shame. The 'chilling smile' he had just after leaving his seat during the vote on the impeachment motion against Prime Minister Han Duck-soo explains everything.'
He added, 'Repeatedly and systematically violating the constitutional order and breaching the Constitution,' citing grounds such as ▲ abusing the impeachment system as a means of political revenge (violating Article 10 and Article 37, Clause 2 of the Constitution) ▲ systematically obstructing judicial processing through legislation protecting Lee Jae-myung (violating Article 11 and infringing Article 27) ▲ unilaterally pushing through many major bills (abusing Article 85 of the National Assembly Act) ▲ disregarding the National Assembly's authority and procedures during the operation of committees and plenary sessions (violating Article 40 and Article 46 of the Constitution).
Additionally, Representative Ahn urged the Constitutional Court justices, 'You must aim for the principles of liberal democracy and the rule of law, which the Constitution seeks, rather than the interests of specific factions,' stating, 'A fair and principled judgment will gain the trust of the people and become a historic ruling that will be remembered for future generations.'
In response, the Democratic Party strongly criticized Representative Ahn, saying, 'The habit of withdrawing has struck again.'
Lee Won-hyuk, deputy spokesperson for the Democratic Party, commented on this day, 'Representative Ahn Cheol-soo's remarks are inconsistent and nonsensical,' pointing out, 'During the last martial law, he criticized Yoon Suk-yeol, and now, as impeachment is imminent, is he trying to 'withdraw' again? What could be the reason for repeating the claims of a coup leader?'
He added, 'It is lamentable that he is further exacerbating the chaos in constitutional order blinded by the presidential election,' and expressed hope that he would remember the day of martial law once more and participate in ending the coup and eradicating the coup forces.
Also, the same party's Jeong Cheong-rae stated in a post on Facebook, 'You (Representative Ahn), who unified with Yoon Suk-yeol, should retire from politics first,' claiming, 'The People Power Party should be dissolved if Yoon Suk-yeol is removed.'