Lee Jun-seok, who blocked the 'Inspection Complete Ban Mediation Plan,' also spoke with Han Dong-hoon... Democratic Party protests, "Respect National Assembly legislation"

Ruling and Opposition Floor Leaders Agree on Mediation Plan for Complete Prosecution Reform on 22nd
Lee Jun-seok "Consulted Legal Experts Including Han Dong-hoon... Legislative Push Is Difficult, Will Reconsider"
President-elect Yoon "Will Fulfill Responsibility and Efforts as President to Uphold Constitutional Values"
Democratic Party "Respect Scheduled Prosecution Normalization Legislation in National Assembly"

Lee Jun-seok, the leader of the People Power Party, attended an emergency joint meeting of party leaders and senior lawmakers held by the Democratic Party of Korea on the 21st at the National Assembly to block the forced passage of the 'Complete Prosecution Reform' bill. He is seen talking with Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, stated on the 22nd that "there are serious contradictions in the mediation plan by Park Byeong-seok, Speaker of the National Assembly, agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties regarding the 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights (Geomsu Wanbak)'" and expressed his intention to reconsider whether to proceed through the Supreme Council. In response, the Democratic Party strongly opposed, urging President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol and the People Power Party to "respect the scheduled legislative process for the normalization of the prosecution."

As strong backlash erupted over the contents of the Geomsu Wanbak mediation plan, on the 24th, floor leader Kwon Seong-dong bowed his head, saying, "We could not overcome the strong demands of the Democratic Party."

In this situation, Leader Lee expressed his opinion to review the mediation plan. He posted on his Facebook that "Throughout the weekend, I gathered detailed opinions from various legal experts and those involved in discussions on the Prosecutors' Office Act and Criminal Procedure Act, commonly referred to as Geomsu Wanbak," and added, "Concerns from frontline investigators, including Minister of Justice nominee Han Dong-hoon, are considered valid."

Lee continued, "The common opinion among legal experts is that if we follow the Democratic Party's claims, the content of the bill to be amended is not limited to just those two points," and "Moreover, frontline investigators who must conduct investigations in the field are outraged that their experiences and concerns were not reflected in the legislative process." He also said, "Given the serious contradictions, further legislative promotion is unreasonable," emphasizing, "This is not a matter to be rushed within a week."

While respecting Floor Leader Kwon's efforts, he said he would reconsider the negotiation plan at the Supreme Council meeting on the 25th. Leader Lee demanded the Democratic Party hold a legislative public hearing, stating, "Before further promotion of this bill, we must invite legal experts and frontline investigators to hold a public hearing." He also proposed holding a confirmation hearing for nominee Han to discuss this policy issue.

According to reports on the day, it was understood that Leader Lee directly communicated with nominee Han during the opinion-gathering process. Han had previously stated in a press release, "Even under the current system implemented by the 2020 law amendment (effective January 1, 2021), many side effects and loopholes have emerged in protecting ordinary citizens and responding to corruption. If additional legislation is hastily enacted without thorough analysis and social consensus, the problems are expected to worsen significantly."

Minister of Justice nominee Han Dong-hoon is responding to reporters' questions as he enters the confirmation hearing office set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office on the 15th. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

Earlier, when the People Power Party indicated its intention to reconsider the mediation plan agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties, the Democratic Party immediately opposed, saying, "President-elect Yoon should respect the scheduled legislative process for the normalization of the prosecution."

Lee Su-jin, floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party, issued a statement on the day, expressing concern that "President-elect Yoon may already be laying the groundwork to break the bipartisan agreement," regarding Yoon's remark that "after inauguration, he will fulfill his responsibility and efforts as president to uphold constitutional values." She criticized, "If President-elect Yoon mentioned the constitution in the same context as the prosecution's vested interest protection logic, it is a serious distortion of the constitution's intent."

Earlier, Baek Hyun-jin, spokesperson for President-elect Yoon, said in a briefing when asked about Yoon's stance on the Geomsu Wanbak mediation agreement, "We are carefully listening and observing the public's concerns about the series of processes," and added, "With the inauguration approaching, after taking office, he will fulfill his responsibility and efforts as president to uphold constitutional values."

Spokesperson Lee further stated, "It is very regrettable that the prosecution misreads the constitutional provision on the prosecutor's warrant application right as a constitutional guarantee of prosecutorial investigation rights. The Constitutional Court has already ruled that the prosecutor's warrant application provision aims to limit the possibility of infringing on citizens' fundamental rights. The constitution's intent does not change according to the prosecution's preferences."

Spokesperson Lee urged President-elect Yoon, saying, "He is the president elected by the people, not the 'Prosecutor President' representing the prosecution. The president-elect should respect the scheduled legislative process for prosecutorial normalization and calmly prepare follow-up measures to guarantee citizens' fundamental rights and judicial justice." She promised, "The Democratic Party will fulfill its responsibility and efforts to uphold constitutional values protecting citizens' fundamental rights."

On the same day, Representative Lee viewed Leader Lee's statement to "reconsider the Geomsu Wanbak agreement" as "a stalling tactic to block bill discussions." He criticized on his Facebook, "As expected, the People Power Party had no intention of accepting prosecutorial reform to separate investigation and prosecution," and added, "The People Power Party's acceptance of the mediation plan was primarily because they judged that they could somehow block the Democratic Party's party-line processing during the Moon Jae-in administration's term and later sufficiently obstruct it after the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's launch."

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