Floor leader Han Byung-do of the Democratic Party of Korea said on the 14th that the People Power Party's allegations about Democratic Party Seoul mayoral candidate Chong Won-o's assault case are "falsehoods from 30 years ago," adding, "We must respond sternly and decisively to such vile conduct."
At a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly that morning, Floor Leader Han said, "Listening to talk about the Seoul mayoral election, I thought the People Power Party truly befits a seditious force and does not change," making the remarks above.
He went on, "It is nothing more than a one-sided claim based solely on assertions by the opposing side against the Democratic Party, namely figures from the then Democratic Liberal Party," adding, "It is exactly the same as what happened during my Gyeonggi Province National Assembly inspection in the past."
Kim Jae-seop of the People Power Party on the previous day released the Yangcheon District Council minutes from 1995, when the candidate was working as the Yangcheon District mayor's secretary. The minutes included a then council member's question to the effect that "(the candidate) drank about 150,000 won worth of alcohol at a cafe, then demanded to spend the night with a female employee from the cafe owner but was refused, and when a customer at the next table tried to dissuade him, he assaulted the customer."
Floor Leader Han brought up the "$2 million in bribes to President Lee Jae-myung from gangsters" allegation raised during the 20th presidential election. Jang Young-ha, the People Power Party's district party chair for Seongnam-si Sujeong-gu, who raised the allegation, was sentenced by the Supreme Court in Mar. to one year in prison, suspended for two years, for announcing false information under the Public Official Election Act.
Floor Leader Han said, "At the time, the People Power Party claimed President Lee Jae-myung received bundles of cash from gangsters," adding, "They said if this blew up, the president would be finished, but it ultimately turned out to be a mere happening."
After the same party's policy coordination meeting that day, floor spokesperson Lee Joo-hee also told reporters, "Without any vision or policy on how to develop Seoul, the People Power Party is pouring its energy into running down the opposing candidate," adding, "If they continue their smear campaign wrapped in falsehoods, it will only heighten the public's fatigue."