Ruling and opposition parties clash over 'Geomsu Wanbak' and 'Insa Cheongmunhoe'... Each holds party meetings to escalate offensive intensity

People Power Party "Stop Lee Jae-myung's Shield Law"
Democratic Party "Yoon Seok-yeol President-elect's Reckless Run"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The ruling and opposition parties clashed head-on ahead of the launch of the next government. The People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party of Korea's push to pass the 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights' (검수완박, Geomsu Wanbak) bill aimed for April, while the Democratic Party targeted the cabinet appointments of President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, including Justice Minister nominee Han Dong-hoon.

On the afternoon of the 15th, both parties held separate caucus meetings at the National Assembly and intensified their offensive. Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at the party's caucus meeting, "The Geomsu Wanbak bills are inappropriate in timing, content, and method," adding, "Why do they want to pass it within President Moon Jae-in's term? Ultimately, it means nothing more or less than completely blocking investigations into power-related corruption." Prior to Kwon's remarks, People Power Party lawmakers shouted slogans such as "Democratic Party, stop the Lee Jae-myung shield law" and "Wake up, Democratic Party puppets of Lee Jae-myung."

He further stated, "Why does the Democratic Party want to pass the Geomsu Wanbak law? It means they want to dissolve investigative rights because there is no law to block investigations against themselves," and pointed out, "Looking at the Gapyeong valley murder case, without supplementary investigations by the prosecution, murder suspects roam freely in our society committing evil acts with no countermeasures."

Kwon encouraged lawmakers to participate in the public opinion campaign. He said, "We must make everyone aware of the harms and problems of this bad law," adding, "Today, I met with National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seug and told him not to leave important matters to Deputy Speaker Kim Sang-hee after his visit to the U.S., but to personally strike the gavel."

Following this, lawmaker Jeon Ju-hye raised her voice, saying, "To strip investigative rights for the six major serious crimes (corruption, economic crimes, public officials, elections, defense projects, and major disasters) is nothing but turning South Korea into a world ruled by corruption and complete corruption," and "Forcibly passing the law without discussing where to investigate serious crimes after the amendment is irresponsible, disregarding South Korea's future, national interests, and the difficulties of the people."

On the same day, the Democratic Party also held a caucus meeting and criticized President-elect Yoon regarding cabinet appointments, including nominee Han. Yoon Ho-jung, emergency committee chairman of the Democratic Party, said at the caucus, "President-elect Yoon's reckless actions are worsening," and criticized, "The nomination of Han is a declaration of war against the public, putting South Korea into the hands of privileged prosecutors."

He continued, "There are voices of concern even within the prosecution," and said, "There is great worry that the dark specters of the Security Command and the Central Intelligence Agency from the military dictatorship era are being revived. This proves why prosecutorial reform is necessary."

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party, also criticized, "Many suspicions related to the personnel hearings are pouring out day after day," and said, "This appointment, which throws away fairness, common sense, and national unity and fills positions with the president-elect's friends, loyalists, and election supporters, is clearly a failure."

He added, "The president-elect should apologize to the people and immediately withdraw the nominations of Han Dong-hoon and Jeong Ho-young, who the public cannot possibly accept," and said, "Disastrous appointments must not lead to a national governance catastrophe."

Targeting nominee Han, he said, "He disparaged reforms and reorganization of power institutions as a midnight escape. Such arrogant and reckless remarks are hard to see from a candidate before a personnel hearing," and added, "He is fitting as the second-in-command and 'small president' of the Yoon Seok-yeol government. He revealed his multiple blades and fierce claws without hiding them."

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