PPP Yeongnam gubernatorial candidates denounce DP’s prosecution-cancellation special counsel bill

The People Power Party’s five mayoral and gubernatorial candidates in the Yeongnam region on the 6th condemned the Democratic Party’s push for a “special counsel bill to cancel prosecutions,” calling it a measure that would let the president “erase his own crimes.”

Kim Du-gyeom, the PPP’s Ulsan mayoral candidate; Park Heong-joon, the Busan mayoral candidate; Choo Kyung-ho, the Daegu mayoral candidate; Lee Cheol-woo, the North Gyeongsang governor candidate; and Park Wan-soo, the South Gyeongsang governor candidate made the remarks at a news conference at Ulsan City Hall’s press center.

They said they would “block to the end, together with the public, the unconstitutional attempt by President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party.” They argued that allowing a special counsel appointed by the president to cancel the president’s own trial would amount to improper interference in judicial procedures and a violation of the constitutional principle of separation of powers, calling it “a judicial coup disguised as legislation” and “judicial insurrection.”

The candidates said Lee’s trial is currently suspended during his term and “poses no obstacle to governing,” but that seeking to eliminate his case through prosecution cancellation while in office would be an unconstitutional act that directly contradicts South Korea’s constitutional order.

They also said the proposal violates the principle of equality, arguing that the president is “one citizen before the law,” and that rejecting that principle would place the president above the Constitution. “Power that seeks to stand above the law is anti-democratic and anti-republican, and the Republic of Korea, a democratic republic, strongly rejects this,” they said.

The candidates criticized Lee’s request that the ruling party gather public opinion on adopting the special counsel measure, saying it appeared to be political calculation aimed at avoiding fallout in local elections less than a month away, rather than a commitment to uphold the Constitution. They claimed it was effectively an admission that the president himself is behind what they called an attempt to “launder” alleged crimes.

They said the bill should not pass the National Assembly, but added that even if it does, Lee “must” exercise his veto. If he does not, they said, it would mean the president is abandoning his duty to defend the Constitution and betraying the oath made to the public.