People Power Party Representative Jang Dong-hyeok speaks while attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 13th. [Photo=Yonhap News]

Jang Dong-hyeok, representative of the People Power Party, has ramped up his offensive against Lee Jae-myung by simultaneously bringing up a series of controversies—ranging from allegations of golfing during the disappearance of a Navy sailor, the shortage of ballots, the Jang Yoon-ki case, the stock market plunge, and rising real estate prices.

Beyond the merits of individual issues, he seems to have centered his attacks on the so-called "politics of silence," where the administration avoids answering uncomfortable questions.

On the 14th, Representative Jang wrote on Facebook, "Closing one's mouth when things are unfavorable is a signature trait of Lee Jae-myung and this administration," adding, "They turn the volume to the max when it's favorable and hit mute when it's unfavorable." He directly criticized the administration, stating, "If a TV is broken, you at least try to fix it, but there is no service for the failed politics of a broken President," and concluded, "Politics is about providing answers."

Taereung Training Center [Photo=Homepage Capture]Demanding minute-by-minute disclosure regarding golf allegations

Beginning on the 13th, Representative Jang focused heavily on Lee Jae-myung's whereabouts during the disappearance of the Navy sailor. One crew member of a Navy frigate performing guard duties near the Northern Limit Line (NLL) in the East Sea was confirmed missing at approximately 7:45 a.m. on the 12th, and was found dead about 22 hours later, at 5:58 a.m. on the 13th, in waters east of Geojin-eup, Goseong-gun, Gangwon-do.

Representative Jang claimed there were reports that Lee played golf at the Taereung Country Club around 11:00 a.m. on the 12th, while the search for the sailor was underway. While stating, "I hope this is not true," he added, "If he calmly went for a round despite receiving reports, this is a matter that cannot simply be overlooked."

He further demanded the minute-by-minute disclosure of related materials, including records of presidential briefings and directives, Taereung CC reservation and entry logs, and CCTV footage following the sailor's disappearance. He even stated, "If this is truly what happened, I can no longer recognize Lee Jae-myung as the Commander-in-Chief of the Republic of Korea's Armed Forces."

In a post on the 14th, he escalated the attack further. Representative Jang argued, "He does not answer the simple question of whether the President played golf while the Navy was searching for the missing sailor," and asserted, "If playing a round of golf was a higher priority than a soldier's life, he is disqualified as Commander-in-Chief."

Whether the golf outing actually occurred has not yet been verified. However, Representative Jang tied the Blue House’s failure to immediately confirm or deny the allegations to an attack frame of "power that refuses to answer." He has expanded the issue from demanding a fact-finding investigation into a broader political dispute over the Blue House's attitude toward responding.

The KOSPI closing price is displayed at the dealing room of the Hana Bank headquarters in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the 13th, a day when the index plunged about 9% and fell below the 7,000-point mark. On this day, the KOSPI closed at 6,806.93, down 669.01 points (8.95%). The KOSDAQ closed at 799.36, down 38.07 points (4.55%), falling below the 800-point line. [Photo=Yonhap News]

On the stock market plunge: "Boasting of achievements, but no countermeasures"

Representative Jang's offensive against the government began in earnest on the 9th, immediately following the stock market crash. During the Supreme Council meeting, he remarked, "After 'Black Tuesday' came 'Black Wednesday'—at this rate, won't it become 'Black Every Day'?"

Previously, on the 8th, sidecar trading halts were triggered consecutively in the KOSPI and KOSDAQ markets. The KOSPI closed at 7246.79, down 5.35% from the previous trading day, and the KOSDAQ closed at 785.00, down 5.56%.

Representative Jang criticized the fact that while Lee Jae-myung personally promoted his achievements and encouraged citizens to participate in the stock market when prices were rising, he has failed to offer responsible explanations or market stabilization measures now that the market has plummeted.

He also mentioned the introduction of single-stock leveraged ETFs and the expansion of domestic stock investments by the National Pension Service. Asserting that "the assets of the people are not tools for the President to build up his achievements," he called for an investigation into the policy-making process involving financial authorities and the Blue House.

It is Representative Jang's political interpretation to attribute the cause of the stock market crash entirely to the policies of the Lee Jae-myung administration. However, the core of his attack is that, given how actively they promoted rising stock prices as an achievement of the administration, they must now explain the causes of market instability and provide countermeasures during the downturn.

On the morning of the 13th, a memorial group for the late student Lee Chae-won holds a press conference in front of the Gwangju District Court in Dong-gu, Gwangju, demanding strict punishment regarding the so-called Jang Yoon-ki case. [Photo=Yonhap News]

Jang Yoon-ki case expanded into the issue of "police oversight mechanisms"

Representative Jang also linked the Jang Yoon-ki case to the silence of the Lee Jae-myung administration. He postponed a meeting with Prime Minister Han Seung-soo scheduled for the 9th to visit the Gwangju Metropolitan Police Agency in protest. However, when he was unable to meet with the Gwangju Police Commissioner, he strongly pushed back, stating, "This is the naked face of the South Korean police."

The People Power Party claims that during the investigation into the Jang Yoon-ki case, allegations were raised regarding a serving police officer (a relative of the suspect) obtaining investigative information, destroying evidence, and downplaying the investigation. Representative Jang linked this case to the Democratic Party's push to abolish the prosecution's supplementary investigation rights, warning that if investigative powers are concentrated in the police, there will be no remaining mechanism to provide oversight.

During the Supreme Council meeting on the 13th, he argued, "Supplementary investigation rights do not merely function to find clues missed by police or supplement insufficient investigations; they also serve as a check on the police." On the 14th, he continued his offensive by holding a forum at the National Assembly titled, "The Investigative Vacuum Revealed by the Jang Yoon-ki Case and the Necessity of Supplementary Investigation Rights."

Representative Jang argued that while Lee Jae-myung personally responds to investigations into "fake news" that is favorable to him, he remains silent on the Jang Yoon-ki case. However, whether there was organized collusion or a cover-up within the police remains a matter that must be finally determined through investigation and trial.

Youths shouting for "re-elections due to election fraud" at the 'Ol-gong'. [Photo=Hanmi Ilbo]Demands for a special counsel on suffrage rights move beyond the National Assembly

The ballot shortage incident is the most consistent theme in Representative Jang's recent attacks on the government. Starting with a meeting with youth organizations in Incheon and the metropolitan area on the 8th, he has visited a public forum of parents held at the National Assembly on the 10th, meetings with youth and university students in Busan and Gyeongnam on the 12th, and civic action sites to demand a special counsel recommended by the People Power Party and re-elections if necessary.

Representative Jang defines the incident where some voters were unable to vote due to a shortage of ballots as a "deprivation of suffrage." He criticizes the fact that while the administration is pushing for a so-called "trial cancellation special counsel" aimed at trials related to Lee Jae-myung, they refuse to answer the "suffrage restoration special counsel" demanded by the people.

At the Supreme Council meeting on the 13th, he raised issue with reference materials sent by the National Election Commission (NEC) to local election commissions. Representative Jang claimed that the materials essentially argued the NEC has no legal responsibility for the ballot shortage, calling it "a de facto directive to dismiss election petitions."

He further stated that what is needed is not a limited special counsel investigating only the NEC, but a special counsel recommended by the opposition party with a broad scope of investigation.

Whether the NEC materials actually compelled the conclusion of the election petitions or infringed upon the judgment of independent local election officials requires separate legal and factual verification. Representative Jang is expanding this from an issue of NEC independence into a question of the Lee Jae-myung administration's responsibility.

According to the June nationwide housing price trend survey released by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 15th, the average transaction price of comprehensive housing (apartments, row houses, detached houses) in Seoul rose 1.03% from the previous month. [Photo=Yonhap News]On the real estate uptrend: "Using forums as an excuse"

Real estate is also a primary target for his attacks. On the 12th, Representative Jang criticized the administration's real estate forum as an "excuse to evade responsibility," arguing that the Lee Jae-myung administration is blocking average citizens from buying homes by reducing mortgage loan limits. His argument is that housing price and rent/charter (jeonse) issues cannot be solved just by holding forums without changing the policy framework.

During the Supreme Council meeting on the 13th, he urged the expansion of housing supply and the easing of loan regulations, stating, "The public does not want to be lectured; they demand answers on housing supply, the burden of rent/charter, and the protection of real homeowners." He also repeatedly questioned whether the Bundang apartment Lee Jae-myung claimed to have put on the market was actually sold.

The expression "all-time surge" used by Representative Jang is a political assessment, but the recent price uptrend is confirmed by statistics. In a survey for the first week of July released by the Korea Real Estate Board on the 9th, Seoul apartment transaction prices rose 0.30% from the previous week, and jeonse prices rose 0.31%. Apartment transaction prices in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, also rose 0.48% over the week.

The government has already entered into a schedule for public discourse on real estate policy. On the 14th, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport held its first public forum on the themes of housing supply and regulations. The forum discussed bottlenecks in supply licensing and construction starts, support for non-apartment supply, and loan regulations.

A housing finance forum by the Financial Services Commission is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. on the 15th, and a real estate tax forum by the Ministry of Economy and Finance is scheduled for the 16th. Opinions raised at the sector-specific forums will be discussed again at a comprehensive forum chaired by Lee Jae-myung on the 23rd.

Representative Jang argues that such forums may end up being merely procedures to justify existing regulations and tax policies, rather than a place to acknowledge policy failure and pivot toward a new framework.

President Lee Jae-myung speaks at a briefing on ministerial duties held at the Blue House Yeongbingwan on the 15th. [Photo=Yonhap News]From individual issues to attacks on "governing attitude"

Representative Jang's recent offensive is a method of linking disparate issues—such as golf allegations, the suffrage special counsel, the Jang Yoon-ki case, and stock and real estate prices—into a single narrative. The core argument is that Lee Jae-myung intervenes directly in achievements or debates favorable to himself, while refusing to answer questions that carry responsibility.

It is also a characteristic strategy to utilize on-site visits, off-the-record meetings, Supreme Council meetings, National Assembly forums, and Facebook simultaneously. It is read as a strategy to define the entire Lee Jae-myung administration as a "power that does not answer," rather than stopping at raising individual allegations.

The success or failure of political offensives depends less on whether the opposition has secured all materials in advance to fully prove the allegations, and more on how quickly and persuasively those in power answer the questions raised.

In particular, the more the government avoids answering matters that can be verified or disclosed, such as presidential briefing records, schedules, or Taereung CC entry data, the more the allegations grow and the stronger the offensive becomes. Representative Jang's strategy is focused on shifting the burden of explanation to the Blue House by saying, "If it is not true, disclose the relevant materials and answer," rather than asserting the allegations as settled facts.

Representative Jang said, "Politics is about providing answers." The role of the President is also to not avoid uncomfortable questions thrown by the public, but to answer them with facts and countermeasures. The questions Representative Jang throws at Lee Jae-myung day after day ultimately boil down to one.

"Can you answer to the people, even regarding uncomfortable questions?"