Legislation Committee Subcommittee on "Complete Prosecution Reform" Collapses After Heated Dispute Over Choi Kangwook's "That Person" Remark

People Power Party: "No Attendance Without Public Apology"
Choi Kangwook Counters: "Spreading False Information to the Media"
"I Won't Let Disruption of Proceedings Go Unchallenged"

Choi Kangwook, Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker / Photo by Yonhap News

[Asia Economy, reporter Lim Joohyung] The conflict between the Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party is intensifying over the so-called "Complete Prosecution Reform" (the complete deprivation of prosecutorial investigative authority). The subcommittee of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which convened on the 19th to discuss the bill, ended in chaos after a controversy over offensive language.

The trigger for the conflict was a remark made by Choi Kangwook, a lawmaker from the Democratic Party. It was reported that during the closed-door subcommittee meeting, Choi referred to Jeon Juhye, a People Power Party lawmaker, as "that person." This led to shouting matches during the meeting, and by around 9:40 p.m., the subcommittee was ultimately adjourned.

Lawmakers from the People Power Party demanded a formal apology from Choi, but he reportedly refused to comply. The meeting was subsequently dissolved.

Regarding the incident, Yoo Sangbum, the People Power Party’s secretary for the Judiciary Committee, told reporters immediately after the adjournment, "Lawmaker Choi used the expression 'that person' toward a fellow lawmaker (Jeon Juhye), who is both a woman and a senior member." He added, "The People Power Party will not attend tomorrow's meeting unless there is a public apology." He further stated that if Choi continues to refuse a public apology, they would consider referring the matter to the Ethics Committee.

In contrast, Choi countered by claiming that Jeon had first made an insulting remark.

Speaking to reporters, Choi said, "It seemed like a delaying tactic by the People Power Party. Jeon kept repeating the same questions for 20 to 30 minutes," and explained, "When I raised an issue with this, Jeon objected, saying it was 'oppressive toward the opposition party.'"

Jeon Juhye, a member of the People Power Party, is speaking at the first subcommittee meeting of the National Assembly’s Judiciary Committee held on the evening of the 18th, where bills related to the "Complete Prosecution Reform" such as the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act were being reviewed. / Photo by Yonhap News

He continued, "I told Jeon that I was criticizing the attitude of the Deputy Chief of the National Court Administration or those present, not her. I said, 'Isn't this just an inferiority complex? Unless there is collusion, there is no reason to act that way.' Then Jeon responded, 'That's why you committed the Channel A Prosecution-Media Collusion case.'"

Upon hearing Jeon's remark, Choi immediately protested. He said, "I was so dumbfounded that I told her, 'If you are going to criticize, at least use the correct terminology. If what you call 'prosecution-media collusion' and 'political-media collusion' are the same, then I am a victim,'" and added, "'If you can't even distinguish between those terms and disrupt proceedings just to insult someone sitting in front of you, you shouldn't be interfering.' At that point, People Power Party lawmakers rose up en masse." Choi claimed that, in this process, he said, "What kind of attitude is that toward a fellow lawmaker?" and that this was the full context behind the "that person" controversy.

Choi emphasized, "If they keep nitpicking like this, spreading false information to the media and continuing to disrupt the meeting, I will never let it slide."

The Democratic Party and the People Power Party convened the Judiciary Committee subcommittee again that day, following the previous day, to review proposed amendments to the Prosecutors' Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act aimed at separating prosecutorial investigative and indictment powers. Prosecutor General Kim Ohsoo attended the committee meeting that day and directly expressed his opposition to the "Complete Prosecution Reform," instead proposing "measures to ensure the fairness of prosecutorial investigations" as an alternative.

After Prosecutor General Kim left, the two parties began a full-scale review of the articles from around 5 p.m., but after six hours, at around 11 p.m., the review was halted due to the ongoing controversy over offensive language. The floor leaders of both parties agreed to reconvene the subcommittee at around 2 p.m. on the 20th, but the situation remains uncertain as the People Power Party maintains its stance that it will not participate unless Choi issues a formal apology.

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