Geum Tae-seop: "The Ruling Party Created the 'Woo Byung-woo Act' and Cheered Claiming 'Prosecutor Reform'"

Amendment to the Corruption Investigation Office Act Passes Judiciary Committee... Strong Opposition from the Opposition
"If the Corruption Investigation Office Act Existed During Park, Woo Byung-woo Would Have Been the Head"

Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who left the Democratic Party of Korea, is giving a lecture at the 'Myeongbulheojeon' meeting of first-term lawmakers of the People Power Party at the National Assembly Members' Office Building on the 18th of last month.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Heo Midam] Former lawmaker Geum Tae-seop, who left the Democratic Party, criticized on the 8th the ruling party-led passage of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Hugo) Act amendment, saying, "They made the 'Woo Byung-woo Act' and are now cheering as if they have achieved 'prosecutorial reform'."

On the same day, Geum posted on his Facebook, saying, "I hope Democratic Party lawmakers stop for a moment and think about what they are doing right now."

He began by saying, "To judge whether a change in a system is good or bad, you can apply it to the period when the system did not exist."

He continued, "If the Hugo Act amendment that the Democratic Party is trying to push through had existed during the Park Geun-hye administration, the ruling power could have appointed former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui or former Senior Secretary for Civil Affairs Woo Byung-woo as the head of Hugo without worrying about the opposition."

Former lawmaker Geum also raised his voice, saying, "If such people wield investigative and prosecutorial powers over judges and prosecutors, undermining the independence of the judiciary and mobilizing the prosecution for political repression, what kind of checks and balances would exist? Who can guarantee that it will not be transformed into a surveillance agency?"

Finally, he criticized, "A law that creates a power agency that can investigate and prosecute judges and prosecutors and allows the president to effectively appoint its head at will is hard to find even in a dictatorship. Where on earth is the Moon Jae-in government heading?"

On the 8th, at the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, when Yoon Ho-jung, the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, tried to strike the gavel to pass the amendment to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (공수처) Act and others, Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, blocked him.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

Earlier that day, the amendment to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Hugo) Act passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee by the ruling party's sole vote.

In the plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, the Hugo Act amendment was approved by standing vote amid opposition from the People Power Party. Yoon Ho-jung, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee from the Democratic Party, immediately held a plenary session after the agenda adjustment committee handled the Hugo Act amendment and pushed for the bill's submission and processing. Opposition lawmakers, including People Power Party floor leader Joo Ho-young, strongly protested around the chairman's seat, but their objections were not accepted.

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