An unverified statement looks like an attempt to further divide PPP
A former key aide to President Moon Jae-in claimed that the conservative camp opposed releasing former President Park Geun-hye from prison a few years ago. The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) denied the allegation, calling it an attempt to divide the conservatives ahead of the March presidential election.
Noh Young-min, who served as chief of staff to Moon for around two years, said in an interview with the JoongAng Ilbo newspaper on Wednesday that “President Park had shoulder surgery in September 2019. There were many from the political circle who called for releasing Park, but the leadership of the then-Liberty Korea Party [now the PPP] relayed the message that they were opposed to it.” “Park was the leader of the party and although she was impeached, she served as the president, and I thought they were just too harsh on her.”
Noh added that it is hard to speculate why the party opposed releasing her. He said he will not name the person who relayed the message from the leadership of the conservative party.
“I received reports on Park’s health condition weekly and reported it to President Moon every month,” he said. “I think Moon decided to pardon Park after receiving reports on her health condition.” Park was pardoned on the last day of 2021 by the Moon administration.
Noh also made a politically controversial statement that could impact the upcoming election. “To be honest, Park was arrested under acting President Hwang Kyo-ahn, not under the Moon administration,” he said. “She requested a table and a chair [in her jail cell] due to her back problem, but it was reported that the request was rejected. A table and a chair were given to her in July 2017, which is after Moon became president, and it was the will of the president.”
Hwang Kyo-ahn, who was prime minister under Park Geun-hye and leader of the Liberty Korea Party, wrote on his Facebook on Friday that Noh’s comment was a “complete lie.”
“Noh’s comments were made for political influence ahead of the presidential election,” Hwang said. “This is a typical form of dividing the public and shows the true face of the Democratic Party. President Moon Jae-in should make a statement on whether he thinks the same way as his confidant Noh Young-min.”
Hwang added that Noh should name the person who opposed the release of Park. “I met with President Moon on July 18, 2019, and requested that he release President Park,” Hwang said. “This was reported on the news and the presidential Blue House confirmed the news at that time.”
Hwang continued that “if there was someone from the leadership that opposed Park’s release, the party members and I will not forgive that person. If Noh made that statement without any proof, he should take the appropriate responsibility.”
Na Kyung-won, who was floor leader of the conservative party at that time, wrote on her Facebook on the same day that she “cannot stop thinking about how absurd the comment was.”
She said, “I never heard of it, and it was never discussed.” Na called on Noh to name the person from the leadership who requested that the Blue House not release Park. “If he made that statement by making up a story, that is a very dangerous political conspiracy and false instigation,” she said. Nah argued that Noh should take legal and moral responsibility for this.
Former President Park Geun-hye is a very sensitive issue among conservatives. Many political commentators believe that Park is still very influential among conservatives and creating an issue out of the former president would divide support for the party’s candidate Yoon Seok-yeol.
Yoon, the former Prosecutor General under the Moon administration, was a key member of the special counsel team that indicted Park and many of her key officials. Yoon was appointed as a member of the special counsel team under the Park administration. He was considered a hero among liberals for his role in indicting Park and many others. This was one of the key reasons Yoon was promoted to Prosecutor General under Moon.
The latest poll from the JTBC broadcasting company and Global Research on Friday showed that Lee Jae-myung from the ruling Democratic Party (DP) was leading Yoon by 38 percent to 25.1 percent. Ahn Cheol-soo from the People’s Party followed them with 12 percent and Shim Sang-jung from the Justice Party was in fourth with 3 percent. The survey showed that the gap between Lee and Yoon rose from 8.9 percentage points to 12.9 percentage points in just four days. Ahn’s figure rose from 3.7 percent last year into double-digit territory. JTBC said that it appears some supporters of Yoon are moving to Ahn.
