"27il Bonhoeui" Minjudang Geomsuwanbak Sokjeonsokgyeol…Gukim Eun 'Soksumucheok'

Extreme Confrontation Between Ruling and Opposition Parties Over Forced Passage
Today's Meeting of Floor Leaders Chaired by the Speaker

On the 27th, Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, along with standing committee chairs and secretaries, held placards and shouted slogans at the 'Sit-in Protest Declaration Ceremony to Prevent the Forced Passage of the Complete Prosecution Reform' held at the National Assembly. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporters Juyoun Oh, Hyunju Lee, Juni Park, Hyunji Kwon] The Democratic Party of Korea announced on the 27th that it intends to forcibly pass the ‘Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights (Geomsu Wanbak)’ bill by holding a plenary session, escalating the extreme confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties. The People Power Party called it a "hasty passage" and announced a filibuster (legal obstruction of parliamentary proceedings through unlimited debate). Park Byeong-seok, the Speaker of the National Assembly who holds the authority to open the plenary session, is deeply deliberating. The ruling and opposition parties are scheduled to hold another meeting chaired by the Speaker with floor leaders again in the afternoon.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, expressed a tough stance at the emergency committee meeting, saying, "We will definitely hold the plenary session today and pass the (prosecutorial reform bill)." Park criticized, "It is outrageous to hold secret meetings with the floor judiciary committee secretaries until just before the agenda coordination committee, review each clause together, reach an agreement, and then block the implementation of the agreed matters by force in a double-faced show," and made the statement.

Park also appeared on KBS Radio on the same day, emphasizing the justification and necessity of passing the bill and urged again for the convening of the plenary session. He said, "The modified alternative within the scope of the agreement that was pre-coordinated by the ruling and opposition floor leaders who attended the agenda coordination committee yesterday could not be processed yesterday, so it is planned to be submitted with that content for modification at the upcoming plenary session."

When reporters asked Speaker Park about holding the plenary session and whether to put the bill on the agenda, he said, "I am considering various things," without giving specific comments. However, through a notice sent to reporters after arriving at work, he announced that he would hold a meeting with the floor leaders of both parties this afternoon, raising the possibility of preparing a compromise plan.

The Democratic Party previously held consecutive meetings of the National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee’s bill subcommittee and full committee, preparing and passing amendments to the Prosecutors’ Office Act and the Criminal Procedure Act. The amendments include stripping the prosecution of direct investigative rights in four areas among corruption, economic, public official, election, defense business crimes, and major disasters, where the prosecution currently holds direct investigative rights, leaving only direct investigative rights for corruption and economic crimes. However, a provision was added in the supplementary rules to maintain the prosecution’s direct investigative rights for election crimes until December 31. This supplementary rule was not included in Speaker Park’s mediation plan agreed upon by both parties on the 22nd.

Park Hong-geun said, "We tried to process it before midnight yesterday, but the processing was delayed by about 10 minutes due to the People Power Party’s obstruction of the meeting. Considering such circumstances, I believe the Speaker will make a judgment on whether to convene the plenary session today," emphasizing, "Speaker Park has repeatedly declared that he will operate the National Assembly from the standpoint of the party that accepted his final mediation plan."

On the other hand, the People Power Party began a sit-in protest on the stairs of the National Assembly main building to block the passage of the bill. People Power Party lawmakers held placards in the morning with slogans such as "People’s Solo Burden, Big Criminal" and "Stop the Democratic Party’s Shield Law for Lee Jae-myung Immediately" and staged a demonstration.

Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, condemned, "After losing the presidential election, the Democratic Party suddenly defined the prosecution as the devil and submitted an absurd bill to strip the prosecution’s investigative rights," adding, "They tried to forcibly take away the prosecution’s investigative rights relying on nearly 180 seats." He further claimed, "The agenda coordination committee, the full judiciary committee meeting, all were illegal. It is fundamentally invalid as it violated the procedures stipulated by the National Assembly Act."

The People Power Party plans to proceed with a filibuster if the bill is put on the agenda in the plenary session. Chief spokesperson Heo Eun-ah said, "The desperate need for the People Power Party is to stop the reckless Democratic Party from ruining South Korea," adding, "We will try all possible methods within the floor to attempt this."

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