'Asurajang' Drops Gavel and Slams Desk... Only 7 Minutes Until Passage of the Public Corruption Investigation Office Act

Joo Ho-young: "A Scene of Democracy Destroyed by Numbers" Unafraid of 'Street Struggle'
Yoon Ho-jung: "Having Enjoyed Dictatorship All Their Lives, Now Accusing the Opposing Party of Dictatorship"

Yoon Ho-jung, Chairman of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, attempted to pass a partial amendment bill on the establishment and operation of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo) at the committee's plenary meeting on the 8th, when Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, and other members protested.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Han Seung-gon] 7 minutes. This is the time it took for the amendment to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HCIO) Act, which had been the subject of intense confrontation and prolonged disputes between the ruling and opposition parties, to pass the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session on the 8th through the sole approval of the Democratic Party of Korea. At 11:05 a.m. that day, the HCIO Act amendment was submitted to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session. Then, at 11:11 a.m., Yoon Ho-jung, the Democratic Party member and chair of the committee, called for a standing vote on the amendment and announced the results.

The People Power Party (PPP) strongly protested with terms such as 'smash-and-grab,' 'parliamentary outrage,' 'legislative dictatorship, rampage,' and 'tyranny of the ruling party,' but were powerless. The PPP has taken a hardline stance, indicating that they may engage in 'street protests,' making a standoff between the ruling and opposition parties over the HCIO bill inevitable for the time being.

On the 9th, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the PPP, appeared on a radio show and stated, "The National Assembly Act itself has become useless, and they are recklessly pushing through legislation. We are gathering opinions that we cannot just keep complaining about the National Assembly Act." This is interpreted as a willingness to possibly engage in 'street protests' as one of various responses after the HCIO Act amendment passed the Legislation and Judiciary Committee despite opposition from the opposition party on the 8th.

In an interview with YTN Radio's 'Hwang Bo-seon's Start of a New Morning' that morning, Floor Leader Joo said, "In the past, there would have been voices in Gwanghwamun calling for the resignation of the government," adding, "The term 'ruling-opposition confrontation' does not accurately describe the situation. The Democratic Party ignored the opposition debate procedure and did not conduct a cost estimate first," and criticized, "They pushed through the legislation recklessly, ignoring even the National Assembly Act with the power of 174 seats. It was a scene of democracy being destroyed by numbers."

Yoon Ho-jung, Chairman of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, attempted to pass a partial amendment to the Act on the Establishment and Operation of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) during the committee's plenary session on the 8th, when Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, and other party members protested.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

At the previous day's Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session, Yoon Ho-jung, a Democratic Party member and committee chair, submitted the HCIO Act amendment despite protests from People Power Party members.

Yoon, who skipped alternative debates citing disorder in the chamber, dropped the gavel from his right hand and then struck the desk three times with his left hand, passing the HCIO Act amendment just 7 minutes after the plenary session began.

Floor Leader Joo emphasized repeatedly, saying, "If this continues, there is no reason for opposition members to be present," and "We are discussing such things as (street protests)." On the same day, he also strongly protested, saying, "Is there nothing visible just because they have power?" and "They should not push through like this with a smash-and-grab."

The small conference room on the 4th floor of the National Assembly Main Building, where the Legislation and Judiciary Committee met, was truly chaotic. The Democratic Party pushed through the HCIO Act swiftly from the agenda adjustment committee to the plenary session. The agenda adjustment committee, which started at 9 a.m., after 1 hour and 30 minutes of discussion, voted 4 in favor and 2 against to pass the HCIO Act amendment.

Chair Yoon declared, "Since the chamber is not in a state to proceed with debate, I will end the debate," as the People Power Party members' protests prevented order from being restored. He then immediately put the agenda to a vote and announced its approval. Eleven Democratic Party committee members and Choi Kang-wook of the Open Democratic Party stood to express their approval.

The amendment mainly relaxes the quorum for the HCIO chief recommendation committee's resolution from 6 out of 7 members to two-thirds, effectively nullifying the opposition's veto power. Accordingly, the HCIO chief candidate can be recommended with the consent of 5 committee members, meaning that even if the 2 opposition-appointed members oppose, the candidate can still be recommended.

Additionally, the amendment includes provisions to relax the qualification requirements for HCIO prosecutors from 10 years of lawyer experience to 7 years and to allow the Speaker of the National Assembly to recommend academic figures or others if a political party fails to select recommendation committee members within ten days.

The People Power Party protested holding placards with slogans such as 'Condemn the parliamentary dictatorship HCIO Act' and shouted slogans. Members Kwon Eun-hee and Choi Yeon-sook of the People's Party also joined the protest.

Chair Yoon, at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary session held again in the afternoon, responded to opposition protests by saying, "Not a single word or stroke of the National Assembly Act was violated," and criticized, "Those who have sucked the honey of dictatorship all their lives and now accuse the opposing party of dictatorship are truly dogmatic."

On the 8th, at the plenary meeting of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, Baek Hye-ryun, the Democratic Party's floor leader, and other members stood up to express their support for the partial amendment bill on the establishment and operation of the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gong-su-cheo).
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party maintains that it has reached sufficient agreement with the People Power Party regarding discussions on the HCIO amendment bill.

Kim Tae-nyeon, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th, "We will do our best to reach an agreement with the opposition party, but when a bold decision is needed for the people and the future, we will act boldly."

Regarding the People Power Party's stance to block legislation through filibusters and other means, he said, "The opposition party's struggle is wrong in both direction and method. If we follow the PPP's demands, even after serving a full four-year term, legislation for people's livelihood and reform will be out of reach."

Floor Leader Kim emphasized, "The bills to be processed at today's plenary session are essential laws dealing with livelihood, reform, justice, and fairness for the future of the Republic of Korea," adding, "They will be a historic milestone toward a country free of privilege and unfairness."

He also stated, "We will promptly launch the HCIO by amending the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office Act, a symbol of anti-corruption and reform of power institutions," and "We will open a new chapter of a healthy and transparent market economy order by passing the three fair economy laws."

He continued, "These bills are promises made to the people during the general election and livelihood reform bills that have undergone long social deliberation," and asserted, "In particular, the three fair economy laws were publicly supported and discussed by the opposition party leader, so there is no reason for the opposition to cause a commotion and oppose them."

Floor Leader Kim also criticized, "The People Power Party has repeatedly avoided consultations on each issue, delayed reviews, and attempted to nullify bills," and "They are repeating past bad habits of opposing and engaging in political strife without any alternatives to gain reflexive benefits."

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