Song Young-gil, a former leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) at the center of the "cash envelope" electioneering scandal, has vowed to take full "political responsibility" although he denied having known about the bribery campaign.
The scandal centers on allegations that envelopes containing cash totaling 94 million won (US$70,570) were handed out to party members, including some 10-20 lawmakers, to help Song be elected as party leader ahead of the party's national convention in May 2021. Song won party leadership at the convention.
The scandal is rocking the DP as prosecutors broaden their investigation, and incumbent Chair Lee Jae-myung has requested that to address the situation Song return home from Paris where he has been attending the ESCP Business School as a visiting professor.
Song apologized to the public and party members, and said he will leave the party to undergo a prosecution investigation as a common citizen in a press conference in Paris on Saturday in his first official response to the scandal.
"To take full political responsibility, I am leaving the DP and stepping down as the party's senior adviser," Song said.
"Regardless of whether or not (the allegations are) legally authentic, the full responsibility is completely up to me, and I will face up to the countless allegations pestering those who helped me," he said.
Song said he will depart for Seoul on Sunday to address the electioneering bribery scandal and subject himself to an investigation.
"I ask the prosecution to summon me immediately upon my return. I will proactively respond to the investigation," he said. "I would like to return to the DP after resolving all the problems."
Prosecutors have yet to book Song for investigation in connection with the allegations.
The former DP leader, however, denied knowing about the alleged bribery campaign at the time of the convention. Nor did he receive any reports on it from his election camp at that time, according to him.
"I was frantically running (from event to event) every 30 minutes," he said. "I was not in a position to personally take care of every affair of the camp at that time."
He also indirectly dismissed a demand from a party senior to retire from politics, saying, "I have not pursued politics as a means of career or livelihood. ... I only have a calling to achieve reconciliation for the nation and a peaceful unification of (the two Koreas)."
The DP said Sunday it "respects" Song's decision to promptly return home and renounce his party membership.
"On the opportunity of former DP Chair Song's return, the party wishes for the truth behind the incident to be quickly and transparently revealed without any political considerations," DP spokesperson Kwon Chil-seung said in a press briefing.
The ruling People Power Party, however, accused Song of failing to give a sincere explanation.
"A defection from the party, homecoming or apology can neither quell the public fury nor cover up the truth," PPP spokesperson Yoo Sang-bum said, calling for a thorough investigation into the case.
Source: Yonhap News Agency