Han Dong-hoon likened to 'pro-Japanese collaborators': Lee Jun-seok says, "The back that bowed 90 degrees to Yoon turned around in no time"

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[Financial News] After former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison in his first trial on charges of leading an insurrection, Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok raised his voice in criticism targeting former People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon.
On the 19th, after the Seoul Central District Court's Criminal Division 25, presided over by Judge Ji Gui-yeon, sentenced former President Yoon to life imprisonment, Lee stated, "The court has handed down a heavy sentence to a man who, in the name of president, trampled on the Constitution and turned the blade of power, entrusted by the people, against the people themselves," adding, "This ruling is grave, but appropriate."
He then launched a full-on broadside against Han.
Lee argued, "Even at this very moment, there are forces seeking political gain by using the name Yoon Suk Yeol as a shield. There are those who became ministers under his halo and enjoyed power while swaggering in his shadow," and went on, "Now they are trying to mislead the public as if they had never done such things."
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He also made remarks that brought to mind the scene at the Seocheon Specialty Market fire site in January 2024.
Lee said, "The back that bent 90 degrees in the snow to bow took no time at all to turn 180 degrees. No one would be proud of such petty agility," adding, "If it comes to that, why not flip all the way to 360 degrees?"
At the time, Han, who was serving as the People Power Party's emergency committee chair, bowed at a 90-degree angle to former President Yoon when he visited the fire site.
Lee also compared Han to pro-Japanese collaborators from the Japanese colonial era.
Lee stated, "We do not hold responsible those who were forcibly made to adopt Japanese-style names or conscripted under Japanese rule. That was not a choice but violence," and continued, "But those who voluntarily donated airplanes and of their own accord accepted posts as members of the Imperial Diet are different."
His remarks were widely interpreted as a jab at Han, who served as justice minister and was once regarded as the "de facto No. 2" in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
Lee went on to stress, "What the Reform Party seeks to do is to surgically remove the specter of one-shot, prosecution-centered opportunism that briefly took hold in the conservative camp, and to quietly pave the way for conservatism to once again stand before the public as a trustworthy choice."
y27k@fnnews.com Seo Yoon-kyung Reporter