Justice Party Agrees to Support 검수완박 at Party Meeting... "Discussion Ongoing on Joining Filibuster Suspension Vote"

Bae Jin-gyo "Guaranteeing Minority Party's Right to Rebuttal in Party Filibuster... Some Question Whether to Participate in Voting"

Bae Jin-kyo (third from the left), floor leader of the Justice Party, is presiding over a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 26th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Jung-wan] On the 27th, Bae Jin-kyo, floor leader of the Justice Party, commented on the People Power Party's preparation for a filibuster (unlimited debate) on the so-called 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights Act (Geomsu Wanbak Law),' stating, "There is an opinion within the party questioning whether it is appropriate for a minor party to participate in a vote that might undermine the spirit of such a filibuster."

In an interview with CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' on the same day, Floor Leader Bae said, "Filibusters, in fact, guarantee the right of rebuttal for minor parties, considering their position as minor parties."

According to the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be ended with the approval of at least three-fifths (180) of the members present after 24 hours from its start. The Democratic Party, with 171 seats, even considering pro-government independents, falls short of the quorum of 180 seats, making the cooperation of the Justice Party's 6 seats essential.

However, Floor Leader Bae added, "Now that the People Power Party has broken the agreement and the Justice Party's position is to process it in April, if deemed necessary, we have no choice but to consider it. That is my personal opinion."

He clearly expressed support for the passage of the Geomsu Wanbak Law itself. He stated, "Since the Justice Party's position is that it must be processed in the April National Assembly session, naturally, we will cast a supporting vote."

Regarding the criticism that the Geomsu Wanbak Law was linked to the Justice Party's long-standing goal of passing the Anti-Discrimination Act, he dismissed it, saying, "We did not link the issue of prosecutorial reform to the Anti-Discrimination Act at all," and added, "Above all, since there were many problems with the Democratic Party's initial proposal, if we linked it to the Anti-Discrimination Act, we would receive much more criticism for exchanging a flawed proposal for the Anti-Discrimination Act."

After the members' meeting held at the National Assembly at noon on the same day, Floor Leader Bae reaffirmed his position to reporters, stating that if the bill related to the Geomsu Wanbak Law is submitted to the plenary session, they will vote in favor.

When asked by reporters after the members' meeting at noon whether the party had decided on a filibuster vote, he said, "The Speaker's mediation agreement and the Justice Party's proposal yesterday to extend the deadline for separating prosecutorial investigation and indictment rights related to election crimes to six months, as well as concerns such as police non-prosecution objection requests, have all been accepted," adding, "The members confirmed their position to support the agreement and the supplemented bill from the Legislation and Judiciary Committee if submitted to the plenary session. However, since the exact voting process has not been determined, filibuster discussions were not held today."

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