Lee Jun-seok criticizes Jang Dong-hyuk over Yoon’s presumption of innocence remark: “It’s regrettable”

According to Financial News, Reform Party leader Lee Jun-seok on the 20th criticized People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk for stressing the presumption of innocence after former President Yoon Suk Yeol was sentenced to life in prison in his first trial. Lee argued, "The presumption of innocence is a principle that applies during trial proceedings, not a way for a political party to stand before the public after a verdict," adding, "It is regrettable to see that familiar inertia at work."
Posting on social media the same day, Lee stated, "Why is it that the conservative camp fails to find a new language every time it faces a moment of crisis?"
Lee noted, "The day after the sentencing, Jang said he felt 'regret and devastation,' emphasized the presumption of innocence, and declared that 'martial law is not necessarily rebellion.'" He stressed, "Legal principles in the courtroom and political responsibility are completely different matters."
He went on, "On the night martial law was declared, the Reform Party was already standing before the locked doors of the National Assembly, shouting, 'This is a violation of the Constitution.'" He insisted, "Only a political force with an unblemished past has the right to speak about the future."
Lee compared the current political landscape and the Reform Party to the aviation industry’s crisis and the success story of Southwest Airlines. "When the aviation industry fell into crisis, the existing major airlines could not change themselves," he said. "Their complex route structures, long-standing practices, and organizational excess had once been sources of competitiveness, but in the face of crisis they became a burden," he explained.
He continued, "At that time, Southwest Airlines chose a different path. It stripped away what was unnecessary and focused only on the essentials." Lee added, "People initially dismissed it as a 'cheap airline,' but Southwest was not simply cutting costs; its entire model was different. It was a way of reaching more people with less, a model in which efficiency itself became value, and it changed the standards of the entire industry."
Lee concluded, "The conservative camp can change, and the Reform Party wants to be the proof of that." He appealed, "This is not something we can prove alone. If you want a conservatism that is not shameful, a conservatism that can speak about the future, then walk with us."
haeram@fnnews.com Lee Hae-ram Reporter