People Power Party Defends 'Prosecution's Investigation of Wolsong Unit 1'... "Why Is the Ruling Party Silencing It?"

Kim Jong-in, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Hye-min] On the 9th, the People Power Party erected a defensive shield against the ruling party's fierce attack on the prosecution investigating allegations of the early shutdown of Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 (Wolseong Unit 1).

Kim Jong-in, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, said at the emergency committee meeting held at the National Assembly in the morning, "I don't understand what exactly the Democratic Party of Korea and Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae are afraid of to try to muzzle the investigation," adding, "The Board of Audit and Inspection's investigation revealed numerous illegal acts in detail, and the investigative agencies' overlooking of this itself is dereliction of duty."

Chairman Kim emphasized the legitimacy of the prosecution's investigation, saying, "The nuclear phase-out policy is a sensitive issue that greatly affects people's lives and the economy. If a core policy was promoted based on intentionally manipulated data by someone, it is only right to uncover the illegality and correct the mistakes."

Floor leader Joo Ho-young also criticized, saying, "The prosecution's investigation is not about investigating the policy but about investigating illegality," and "Even if it is a campaign pledge, it must be done according to legal procedures; it cannot be done by ignoring the law." He then sharpened his words, "If that logic applies, why did the Democratic Party insist so persistently on investigating the Four Major Rivers Project?"

Floor leader Joo sarcastically said, "What are they afraid of to destroy 444 documents and overreact like this? Based on experience, when the Democratic Party overreacts to a case, it is because there is a fatal illegality that would cause huge problems if revealed, so they have often obstructed investigations from the start." He added, "Because the Democratic Party is reacting so sensitively, the public suspects that there must be a big problem here."

Policy Committee Chairman Lee Jong-bae also pointed out, "The Board of Audit and Inspection's results already confirmed economic manipulation, and the organized destruction of official documents during the process, which is a national scandal, has been exposed to the public. Investigating such illegal cases is only natural in a democratic country," and asked, "Is pressuring the prosecution an attempt by the government and ruling party to cover up their shame?"

Emergency committee member Sung Il-jong said, "This investigation is unrelated to the government's energy transition policy. The core is to uncover those behind the manipulation of Wolseong Unit 1's economic feasibility and the destruction of data," and criticized, "The Democratic Party's attempt to mislead the public by invoking the government's energy transition policy is a malicious political act to water down the prosecution's investigation and a political trick to confuse the public." He sharpened his words, saying, "Stop shaking the prosecution any further," and "Those who obstruct the investigation are the real culprits."

Meanwhile, the People Power Party also raised their voices against the Democratic Party's plan to move the National Assembly to Sejong City, leaving only the Speaker's office and the plenary session hall, calling it "virtually an irregular method." Floor leader Joo said, "This is not even a discussed matter, and the current National Assembly site is 100,000 pyeong, but they plan to push forward a project on an area of 180,000 pyeong, costing roughly over 1.5 trillion won including service fees," adding, "While I agree with relocating a few standing committees to resolve administrative inefficiencies, I cannot agree with moving everything all at once."

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