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Mr. Lee Rae-kyung, who was appointed by the
Democratic Party as chairman of the Innovation Committee, resigned yesterday (5th), the day of his appointment. Revelations of past statements that the Cheonan ship was not sunk by North Korea but self-destructed led him to resign less than 10 hours after his appointment. The Democratic Party's attempt to revamp itself in the wake of the convention money envelope allegations and the controversy over Rep. Kim Nam-guk's cryptocurrency investment has stalled from the start.

This is reporter Soh Hwan-wook.

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This is what the honorary chairman of the "Other Hundred Years" wrote on social media after his appointment as chairman of the
Democratic Party's Innovation Committee.

Conspiracy theories have been posted, claiming that the Cheonan ship self-destructed, that it was the US hegemon that fabricated the incident to rupture inter-Korean relations, and that U.S. intelligence agencies were deeply involved in the last South Korean presidential election.

Criticism was immediately raised within the party as to whether it was appropriate for a person who had made radical claims from a biased perspective to head an innovation organization.

Fourth-term Rep. Hong Young-pyo has publicly called for Lee's immediate resignation, saying it would only add another risk to the party.

Even pro-Lee Jae-myung lawmakers expressed the opinion that "in a situation where public opinion is not good, the only exit strategy is voluntary resignation" or "I don't understand how this controversy has not been filtered."

Not only the People's Power, but also the Justice Party joined in the criticism.

[Lee Jae-rang, spokesman for the Justice Party: One cannot help but wonder how a tendentious figure who openly utters words that are out of common sense can lead to the innovation engine within the party.]

As the controversy continued, Chairman Lee said, "I regret that the judgment and opinions of the president have become the subject of a witch-hunt-style debate," but expressed his resignation, saying, "Since the controversy is a burden for the Democratic Party, I will resign from my position as head of the innovation organization."

It was nine and a half hours after the announcement of Lee Jae-myung's appointment.

(Video Interview: Yang Doo-won, Video Editing: Chae Cheol-ho)