Park Jeong-hun of the People Power Party, aligned with a pro-Japan faction, publicly pushed back against the appointment of attorney Hwang Su-rim to the nomination management committee in charge of the June 3 local elections and National Assembly by-elections. He took issue with the fact that Hwang had served as defense counsel in the first trial of President Lee Jae-myung's election law violation case.
On the 20th on Facebook, Park said, "It has been confirmed that the attorney for the first trial of President Lee Jae-myung's election law case has been included in our party's local election nomination management committee," and stated accordingly.
He said, "You may remember the case in which (the president) said in a TV debate that he 'did not commit' his brother to a psychiatric hospital, and after his fine was finalized for the impersonating prosecutor case, he lied that he had been falsely accused and was indicted," adding, "In that case, the lies were recognized on appeal and a guilty verdict was issued, but at the Supreme Court it was finalized as not guilty for the absurd reason that it was 'not an active lie'—that very case."
He went on, "The first trial in that case also returned a not-guilty verdict, and it has come to light that attorney Hwang Su-rim, who has now been appointed to our party's nomination committee, handled the defense," adding, "(Hwang's) law firm Sobaek is a family firm, so it appears the entire family defended the president. Hwang's résumé even includes a record of 'Seongnam City legal counsel.'"
Park said, "The president's election law case became 'the seed of the Lee Jae-myung administration,' and if our party's nominations are made based on the standards of the person who defended that case, how ridiculous would that be?" He added, "Will the nomination contenders accept the results?"
He continued, "I have been at the forefront of fighting the Lee Jae-myung government and the Democratic Party," adding, "While saying 'let's fight,' I cannot understand, by my common sense, the reason for making such an appointment."