PPP Calls 'Salmon Drinking Party' Allegations a 'Fraud,' While DP Claims 'Illegal Prosecution'

[Anchor]

The ruling and opposition parties have offered diametrically opposed interpretations of the court's first-instance ruling. The People Power Party (PPP) asserted that the allegations regarding a "salmon drinking party" were a fraud against the public, while the Democratic Party (DP) emphasized the parts where the indictment was dismissed, arguing that it exposed illegal investigations by the prosecution.

Park Chan-beom reports on the political reactions.

[Reporter]

The People Power Party launched an offensive, stating that as the first-instance court found the perjury charges related to former Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor Lee Hwa-young's "salmon drinking party" claims to be guilty, there is no longer any room for false agitation or conspiracy theories.

They argued that "the absurd lies of the former vice governor were the core script of the Democratic Party to frame the entire Ssangbangwool illegal remittance case as a fabricated investigation by the prosecution."

[Park Soo-young / Chief Spokesperson of the People Power Party: It has been clearly revealed that the frame of 'fabricated investigation' pushed by the massive opposition party and President Lee Jae-myung, which undermined the foundation of democracy, was a fraud against the public.]

Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik sharpened his criticism, stating, "The core basis upon which the Democratic Party has been demanding the withdrawal of the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's illegal remittance trial has collapsed," adding that "they must abandon their obsession with the withdrawal of the indictment."

On the other hand, the Democratic Party countered that the People Power Party is misleading public opinion, arguing that "the essence of this ruling is that all other core charges, including violations of the Political Funds Act and abuse of power—excluding the perjury charge—were either found not guilty or the indictment was dismissed."

[Lee Ju-hee / Floor Spokesperson of the Democratic Party: This proves that the suspicions of illegal investigations and fabricated statements were recognized to a significant extent. The true face of this ruthless political maneuvering has been revealed through the judicial judgment of dismissing the indictment.]

Floor Leader Han Byung-do emphasized that "the prosecution's clear abuse of indictment power, as described by the court," is "a confirmation by the court that the prosecution of the previous administration targeted President Lee Jae-myung and those around him, wielding their swords to fabricate crimes that did not exist."

Regarding the guilty verdict on the "salmon drinking party" claims, the Democratic Party stated that "the jury's verdict was narrowly split 4 to 3," and added that "it is necessary to re-examine the matter through an appeal."

Reported by Kim Yong-woo | Video by Park Ji-in | Graphics by Han Heung-soo and Jeon Yu-geun
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.