Democratic Party of Korea leadership contender former Prime Minister Kim Min-seok on the 12th pushed back by releasing a hospital and pharmacy prescription, after Supreme Council member Lee Sung-yoon criticized him for being absent from the vote to lift the Dec. 3 martial law.
That afternoon at the National Assembly Members' Office Building, the former prime minister held a "YouTubers' 100 questions, 100 answers" event and explained why he is running for party leader and his positions on several issues.
Among them, the former prime minister actively answered Lee Sung-yoon's allegation that he skipped the vote to lift the Dec. 3 martial law. Kim said, "I wasn't feeling well that day, I went to the hospital, got an IV drip, picked up medicine, and slept," adding, "I also brought the hospital prescription and the pharmacy prescription."
The former prime minister said, "Representative Lee Sung-yoon isn't a pharmacist, so why is he interested in drug ingredients?" and proceeded to read out the ingredients on the pharmacy prescription one by one. He said, "I even showed all the ingredients, and to keep making an issue of this is like what the Daejang-dong prosecutors did."
He also said he would respond to fake news about him according to law and principle. When a YouTuber at the event pointed out that fake news about the former prime minister keeps appearing on Kim Ou-joon's show, the former prime minister answered, "It's true that I submitted a letter of nonpunishment at the time, but going forward, for cases where clear fake news leads to complaints or investigations, I will say, 'Please handle it according to law and principle.'"
The former prime minister also pushed back against Representative Choi Min-hee's criticism that "the person who generally commands an election victory is the party leader," and that "one might think he played a certain role in operations, but isn't it the party leader who commands?" In his candidacy announcement, the former prime minister said he "commanded the local, parliamentary, and presidential elections and led them to victory," a remark Choi had disputed.
The former prime minister said, "When running a presidential, parliamentary, or local election, there is a general headquarters chief who plans and leads the actual campaign, and I'm probably the person who has served as general headquarters chief more than 10 times within the party," adding, "Has Representative Choi Min-hee ever been in a position to make the final decision? I made a substantial share of the final decisions."
In his opening remarks, the former prime minister said, "I will resolve the problem of dual party membership," and added, "I will root out Shincheonji."
He said, "I will launch a 100% full-membership voting campaign," adding, "One person, one vote is my consistent view as a principled advocate of party member sovereignty." He continued, "I will eliminate dual party membership," and said, "Dual party membership is wrong ethically, legally, and politically."
He also said he would root out the Shincheonji issue within the party. The former prime minister said, "As President Lee Jae-myung became the nominee at the end of the last presidential primary, everyone watched the strange process and thought, 'What is this?'" adding, "If there are people who joined the Democratic Party not out of affection for the party but due to Shincheonji, I will crack down sternly."
The former prime minister stressed, "To support President Lee Jae-myung, who has four years left, and the government of popular sovereignty in state affairs as party leader, I am the one best prepared, having worked in sync with the president," adding, "Among those running for party leader this time, the one with the most strategy, command, and experience in elections is Kim Min-seok."