Ahn Cheol-soo: "The Ruling Party Shows Dogmatic Behavior... No Sign of Compromise or Concession"

Regarding Yoon Mi-hyang Allegations, "Let's Uncover Them Through a Hearing"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] Ahn Cheol-soo, leader of the People’s Party, criticized the Democratic Party of Korea on the 1st, saying, “Their dogmatic behavior, which regarded unconditional cooperation with the Blue House and the ruling party as cooperation during the 20th National Assembly, is inevitably being reproduced in the process of negotiating the organization of the 21st National Assembly.”

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Ahn said, “A working National Assembly is one that is forced to work through institutional supplementation, but the most important premise is an attitude of smooth parliamentary operation through respect, consideration, compromise, and reconciliation toward the other party,” adding, “Currently, the Democratic Party shows no such attitude of respect, consideration, compromise, or reconciliation.”

Regarding various suspicions surrounding Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang, he pointed out, “If a working National Assembly ultimately aims to resolve the public’s distrust of politics and properly fulfill the responsibilities given to the National Assembly, then the National Assembly’s high morality and self-purification function must be guaranteed together,” and said, “A National Assembly that covers up for its own immoral members can hardly work well.”

He continued, “Looking at the Democratic Party’s attitude toward allegations of corruption involving some ruling party members, it is doubtful whether these people in power have even the minimum values and standards of justice, fairness, and the rule of law,” and added, “I urge the Democratic Party to immediately file a complaint themselves as soon as the Ethics Committee is formed in the National Assembly and to take responsibility at the parliamentary level.”

Ahn emphasized, “The Ethics Committee in the National Assembly should be institutionalized as a standing Ethics Committee, and if a lawmaker is judged to have a problem with their qualifications as a representative of the people, immediate and substantive investigations and measures should be taken,” and said, “The National Assembly Act should be amended to allow for stronger hearings.”

Ahn said, “If public hearings or inquiries are held under the watchful eyes of the public, even if criminal matters are handed over to investigative agencies, issues of lying and morality can be revealed by the National Assembly itself,” and added, “Regardless of judicial processing, if the level of moral disqualification in corrupt behavior or wealth accumulation falls far short of the public’s standards, shouldn’t the National Assembly be able to judge this independently from judicial processing?”

Ahn said, “Grandmother Lee Yong-soo’s statements can also help easily distinguish through hearings whether there is a reality of manipulation by pro-Japanese forces behind the scenes, and what constitutes the shameless corruption of falsehood and hypocritical forces,” and added, “Furthermore, it will be a good opportunity to consider the negative elements that affect the healthy values, norms, and democracy of the community when civic groups that are supposed to monitor power become collusive with power.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.