Han Donghoon Says "Lee Is Building Up to Dismiss His Own Case With Noh Woongrae"... Hong Joonpyo Asks "Is Han Not Responsible?"

Regarding President Lee Jaemyung's apology for excluding former Democratic Party lawmaker Noh Woongrae from party nominations after his appellate acquittal on 'illegal political fundraising' charges, Han Donghoon, an independent lawmaker, and Hong Joonpyo, former Mayor of Daegu, voiced differing opinions. Han criticized President Lee’s apology as a “build-up for dismissing his own case,” while Hong argued that Han himself, who was then Minister of Justice, should bear responsibility for the prosecution’s illegal investigation.

At the media day for the second primary debate held at the People Power Party's central headquarters in Yeouido, Seoul, presidential primary candidates Han Dong-hoon and Hong Joon-pyo of the People Power Party are seen embracing after being nominated as debate opponents. April 23, 2025. Photo by Yonhap News.

On August 22, Han criticized President Lee on social media, saying, “After disgracing yourself by acting as Baek Hae-ryong's backer, now you are playing a melodramatic role in Noh’s cash envelope case. The intention is obvious: to build up towards dismissing your own case.”

The day before, President Lee had apologized on social media after former lawmaker Noh, indicted for illegal political fundraising, was acquitted not only in the first trial but also in the appellate court. President Lee said he had excluded Noh from nominations during the 2024 general election, when he was the Democratic Party leader, “out of necessity, in line with the actions of rogue political prosecutors.” He added, “I promise to build a country where innocent citizens are never again victimized by the abuse of state power.”

In a further post the same day, Han added, “The brazen attitude of Democratic Party lawmakers, shouting as if their own party’s politicians have done nothing wrong, vividly displays their longstanding problems. If they insist that they are innocent and wrongly accused, let’s have everyone in the National Assembly listen together to those recordings.” He continued, “Such recordings will serve as valuable evidence for the public to judge President Lee and Democratic Party politicians who shield political figures that received cash envelopes.”

Han previously, as Minister of Justice under the Yoon Sukyeol administration in December 2022, had justified the need for the arrest motion against Noh by stating, “Even the rustling sound of cash envelopes was recorded.”

After Noh’s appellate acquittal, ruling party figures demanded Han apologize for his past remarks. Han responded the previous day, saying, “It’s not because it was proven he did not actually receive money that he was acquitted. The acquittal was due to the exclusion of recordings and other evidence as illegally obtained evidence.”

In response, Hong Joonpyo, former Mayor of Daegu, raised the issue of prosecutorial misconduct by targeting Han. Hong referred to the acquittals of both Noh and Song Younggil, former lawmakers, on social media, stating, “Both were acquitted because of illegally collected prosecution evidence; however, Han Donghoon disputes this, denying their innocence.”

Hong continued, “If so, doesn’t this amount to the prosecution admitting to illegal investigations? Doesn’t Han Donghoon, who directed and supervised these investigations, bear responsibility?” He further argued, “Predetermining a conclusion and then matching the evidence to fit is the textbook case of a fabricated investigation.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.