People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok speaks during a news conference at the National Assembly on May 5. [Photo=Yonhap]
Opposition parties including the People Power Party and the New Reform Party on May 5 stepped up attacks on a bill to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations of “fabricated investigations and fabricated prosecutions” under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
They criticized President Lee Jae-myung’s comments a day earlier that the issue requires public input and deliberation, arguing he was seeking to delay action until after the June 3 local elections.
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok told a news conference at the National Assembly that Lee was not only adopting “every method used by dictators around the world to control the judiciary,” but also seeking to appoint a special counsel himself “to erase crimes.” He said Lee was writing a “dictator’s guidebook” that would “remain in world history.”
Jang also said Lee’s stance amounted to canceling indictments “but trying to push back the timing,” adding that “something unconstitutional does not become constitutional just because the local elections pass.”
People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok wrote on Facebook that Lee had defined the “indictment-cancellation special counsel” as something that “must be done.” Song said Lee should say “I will not cancel indictments,” not call for deliberation on timing and procedure. He vowed to block what he called an attempted “judicial coup” through indictment cancellations.
People Power Party candidates for metropolitan and provincial governor posts also held an emergency news conference in front of Bosingak pavilion in central Seoul, calling the bill “a serious act that destroys the rule of law” and “directly undermines the constitutional order.” In a statement, candidates including Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon, Incheon mayoral candidate Yoo Jeong-bok and Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja demanded that the bill be withdrawn; that Lee declare, “There will be no indictment cancellations, and I will stand trial according to law and principle”; and that Democratic Party candidates for those posts state whether they support the bill.
The New Reform Party also labeled the bill a “judicial coup.” Party leader Lee Jun-seok wrote on Facebook a day earlier that the president likely knows why he cannot bring himself to say, “Don’t do it.” Lee said the opposition must secure not a vague timetable but a clear declaration that the plan is being abandoned. He also shared information about a signature campaign opposing the proposal.
The party’s chief spokesperson, Lee Dong-hoon, said in a statement May 5 that he could not help but laugh at what he called a “shallow calculation” to “cover the public’s eyes and just get past the local elections.” He said a law that shakes the foundation of separation of powers should be “scrapped immediately,” not slowed down. New Reform Party candidates Cho Eung-cheon for Gyeonggi governor and Kim Jeong-cheol for Seoul mayor met a day earlier with People Power Party candidates from the Seoul metropolitan area to coordinate opposition to the bill.
The Democratic Party introduced the special counsel bill on April 30, saying it aimed to uncover alleged abuses of prosecutorial power tied to cases including the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea case and allegations of corruption in the Daejang-dong, Wirye and Baekhyeon-dong development projects. Under the bill, a special counsel could take over designated cases and decide whether to file charges or maintain prosecutions.
Opposition parties argue the special counsel would take over cases in which Lee is a suspect and attempt to cancel indictments. They say the legislature and executive branch would be using the special counsel to infringe on judicial independence and threaten separation of powers.
Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae told reporters in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, after a public outreach event that if a strict special counsel investigation proves prosecutions were fabricated, defendants who suffered from that fabrication “should of course be relieved.” He said the question of when to proceed would be decided by gathering the views of the public, party members and lawmakers to make the best choice.
They criticized President Lee Jae-myung’s comments a day earlier that the issue requires public input and deliberation, arguing he was seeking to delay action until after the June 3 local elections.
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok told a news conference at the National Assembly that Lee was not only adopting “every method used by dictators around the world to control the judiciary,” but also seeking to appoint a special counsel himself “to erase crimes.” He said Lee was writing a “dictator’s guidebook” that would “remain in world history.”
Jang also said Lee’s stance amounted to canceling indictments “but trying to push back the timing,” adding that “something unconstitutional does not become constitutional just because the local elections pass.”
People Power Party floor leader Song Eon-seok wrote on Facebook that Lee had defined the “indictment-cancellation special counsel” as something that “must be done.” Song said Lee should say “I will not cancel indictments,” not call for deliberation on timing and procedure. He vowed to block what he called an attempted “judicial coup” through indictment cancellations.
People Power Party candidates for metropolitan and provincial governor posts also held an emergency news conference in front of Bosingak pavilion in central Seoul, calling the bill “a serious act that destroys the rule of law” and “directly undermines the constitutional order.” In a statement, candidates including Seoul mayoral candidate Oh Se-hoon, Incheon mayoral candidate Yoo Jeong-bok and Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Yang Hyang-ja demanded that the bill be withdrawn; that Lee declare, “There will be no indictment cancellations, and I will stand trial according to law and principle”; and that Democratic Party candidates for those posts state whether they support the bill.
The New Reform Party also labeled the bill a “judicial coup.” Party leader Lee Jun-seok wrote on Facebook a day earlier that the president likely knows why he cannot bring himself to say, “Don’t do it.” Lee said the opposition must secure not a vague timetable but a clear declaration that the plan is being abandoned. He also shared information about a signature campaign opposing the proposal.
The party’s chief spokesperson, Lee Dong-hoon, said in a statement May 5 that he could not help but laugh at what he called a “shallow calculation” to “cover the public’s eyes and just get past the local elections.” He said a law that shakes the foundation of separation of powers should be “scrapped immediately,” not slowed down. New Reform Party candidates Cho Eung-cheon for Gyeonggi governor and Kim Jeong-cheol for Seoul mayor met a day earlier with People Power Party candidates from the Seoul metropolitan area to coordinate opposition to the bill.
The Democratic Party introduced the special counsel bill on April 30, saying it aimed to uncover alleged abuses of prosecutorial power tied to cases including the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea case and allegations of corruption in the Daejang-dong, Wirye and Baekhyeon-dong development projects. Under the bill, a special counsel could take over designated cases and decide whether to file charges or maintain prosecutions.
Opposition parties argue the special counsel would take over cases in which Lee is a suspect and attempt to cancel indictments. They say the legislature and executive branch would be using the special counsel to infringe on judicial independence and threaten separation of powers.
Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheong-rae told reporters in Dongducheon, Gyeonggi Province, after a public outreach event that if a strict special counsel investigation proves prosecutions were fabricated, defendants who suffered from that fabrication “should of course be relieved.” He said the question of when to proceed would be decided by gathering the views of the public, party members and lawmakers to make the best choice.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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