Jo Eung-cheon Absent from Public Corruption Investigation Act Vote, Jang Hye-young Abstains... Ruling Party Supporters Launch Another Fierce Attack

Jo Eung-cheon "I Will Endure Criticism" Jang Hye-young "Protecting Sojin Is the Value"
Ruling Party Supporters "Form a Party Together," "Damaging Progressive Identity" Criticism
Jin Joong-kwon & Geum Tae-seop "We Support You"

Cho Eung-cheon, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker [Photo by Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Joo-hee] Amid the passage of the amendment to the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (HCIO) Act, which contains provisions that nullify the opposition party's veto power, at the National Assembly plenary session on the 10th, Representative Cho Eung-cheon, considered a principled member within the Democratic Party of Korea, was the only one from the party to abstain from voting. Following this, the Democratic Party's member bulletin board has been flooded with posts criticizing Representative Cho, calling him "cowardly" and demanding his expulsion.

At the plenary session that day, the amendment to the HCIO Act, which limits the opposition party's veto power, was passed. Of the 287 members present, 187 voted in favor, 99 against, and 1 abstained.

During the vote on the HCIO Act amendment, Representative Cho remained in his seat but did not press any of the 'Approve,' 'Disapprove,' or 'Abstain' buttons on the voting system monitor at his seat.

After the plenary session, Representative Cho told reporters that the reason for not voting was "the option that best aligns with my position so far," and when asked about the expected criticism from the pro-Moon Jae-in (친문, Chinmun) support base, he replied, "I suppose I have to bear it all."

Representative Cho has previously expressed opposition to the establishment of the HCIO. In a post on his Facebook last month, he pointed out, "I used to say that the HCIO was not something to be overly concerned about because there was a safety device in the form of the opposition party's veto power, but now they are trying to amend the law to nullify that veto power."

After news of Representative Cho's abstention became known, the Democratic Party's member bulletin board was filled with posts demanding disciplinary action or expulsion, such as "Discipline Cho Eung-cheon," "Leave like Geum Tae-seop (former Democratic Party member)," "He stabbed the party in the back," "A puppet of the prosecution," and "Cowardly and disgusting."

Previously, former Representative Geum Tae-seop also abstained from voting on the HCIO establishment bill, a fast-track bill, on December 30 last year and was disciplined (warned) for violating the party line. Afterward, Geum faced severe criticism from government and ruling party supporters, including accusations of "betraying the Democratic Party" and being told to "go to the People Power Party." When his appeal against the disciplinary action was rejected, he ultimately left the Democratic Party in October.

Jang Hye-young, Justice Party member./Photo by Yonhap News

On the same day, Justice Party Representative Jang Hye-young also broke the party leadership's 'party line approval' policy and abstained from voting.

Representative Jang posted on her Facebook, "To not be ashamed of the promise to perform my duties according to my conscience, I made a painful decision that goes against the party line," adding, "As a party member, I fully understand the gravity of the party line. However, I firmly believe that maintaining the conviction to say 'no' when conscience dictates so is also a precious value of the Justice Party, a democratic party."

However, some netizens have also raised critical voices regarding Representative Jang's abstention. They commented, "Do you not even understand the party line?" "You have seriously damaged the identity of a progressive party," "Cho Eung-cheon and Jang Hye-young should get together and form a new party," and "The organization does not want people like this," calling for their resignation.

On the other hand, there were voices supporting the 'principled actions' of Representatives Cho and Jang.

Former Dongyang University Professor Jin Joong-kwon wrote on his Facebook on the 10th about Representatives Cho and Jang, "We should take comfort in the fact that there are two lawmakers who kept their conscience," calling them "precious survivors among zombies." He also harshly criticized former Justice Party leader Shim Sang-jung and the Justice Party, saying, "Shame on you. You are the trash that ruined progressivism."

Former Representative Geum also expressed support for Representative Jang's abstention, saying, "I support you."

Meanwhile, the HCIO Act amendment passed at the National Assembly plenary session that day includes provisions that effectively nullify the opposition party's veto power by easing the quorum for the HCIO chief candidate recommendation committee's resolution from 6 out of 7 members to three-fifths.

It also includes provisions that if a political party fails to select a recommendation committee member within ten days, the Speaker of the National Assembly will recommend academic figures or others instead, and that the qualification requirement for HCIO prosecutors will be relaxed from 10 years of lawyer experience to 7 years.

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