Park Hong-geun: "Yang Hyang-ja personally wrote the document opposing the complete prosecution reform... Will persuade to ensure processing in April"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 20th, Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, said about the 'document opposing the Complete Prosecution Reform Legislation' allegedly written by independent lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja, who was reassigned to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, "She said she wrote it but has not yet made it public," and added, "(Regarding the party's speed strategy) all countermeasures are prepared accordingly." He also reiterated that the prosecution reform-related bills will definitely be passed within the April extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the emergency countermeasure meeting held at the National Assembly on the 20th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the same day, Park appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and responded to the host's question about whether the document opposing the Complete Prosecution Reform (Geomsu Wanbak) attributed to lawmaker Yang was fake, saying, "Yes. It seems she wrote it herself, but as far as I know, it has not been officially announced yet." He further explained, "If the Complete Prosecution Reform bill goes to the agenda adjustment committee, it is true that the help of one independent member is needed, but if lawmaker Yang is considering it, that is her own choice, so we cannot do anything about it. However, all countermeasures are prepared accordingly."

Lawmaker Yang was reassigned to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 7th. The Democratic Party, anticipating that prosecution reform-related bills might be referred to the agenda adjustment committee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, placed Yang, who became independent after resigning from the party last July due to a sexual misconduct incident involving her regional staff, in the seat of Democratic Party lawmaker Park Sung-jun. Through this 'swap,' Yang was assigned as an adjustment committee member representing the non-negotiating group, with expectations that she would play the role of a 'casting voter' deciding the passage of the bill. However, a document under Yang's name circulated the previous day stating, "I cannot agree with the way this (prosecution reform-related) bill is being pushed forward," causing concerns that this plan might be disrupted.

Park said, "Lawmaker Yang is still in the stage of deliberation and has not yet made it public," adding, "I have said that if necessary to gain public consent, accuracy, and completeness, I will reflect that and create a final revised bill. I believe lawmaker Yang will also consider such issues sufficiently." He reaffirmed his determination to push the bill through, saying, "It must be done in April."

Regarding the confirmation hearings, he pointed to Jeong Ho-young, the nominee for Minister of Health and Welfare, calling the situation "very serious." He criticized, "Not only is there the issue of withdrawal of the nomination, but he has also become the subject of an investigation," and said that even if Jeong voluntarily resigns, an investigation is inevitable. Regarding Han Dong-hoon, nominee for Minister of Justice, he said, "He insulted the National Assembly and the Democratic Party to the extent that the term 'midnight escape' was used," and added, "This foreshadows the future image of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration."

When asked by the host whether the confirmation of Prime Minister nominee Han Duck-soo could be rejected if the appointments of Han Dong-hoon and Jeong Ho-young were forcibly pushed through, he replied, "We cannot rule out that possibility."

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