Woo Sang-ho "I Opposed Article 80 of the Party Charter Even When It Was Created... I Thought It Would Hold the Party Back"

"Consider the Exposure Situation of Yoon's Political Retaliation Investigation"
Emergency Committee: Must Observe the Decision of the Preliminary Committee

Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, holds a press briefing at the National Assembly on the 11th. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] Woo Sang-ho, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated regarding the 'Article 80 of the Party Constitution,' which has faced calls for revision within the party, "I did not agree even when the Innovation Committee created it in 2015. I believed that such a provision would inevitably come back to hinder us later."

After returning from COVID-19 quarantine, Chairman Woo held a press conference at the National Assembly on the 11th and said, "Although there are provisos and discretionary clauses, the media and the public are more likely to focus on the clause that says it can be applied rather than the fact that it is supposed to be applied. They will definitely ask why it was not applied, so I argued at the time that it was not an appropriate innovation plan."

Article 80 of the Party Constitution was an innovation plan announced by the Innovation Committee about 10 months before the April 13, 2016 general election, during the time when former President Moon Jae-in was the leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy in 2015.

Chairman Woo explained, "My view is that when we become the opposition party, we must consider the current situation where political revenge investigations against President Yoon Seok-yeol and Prosecutor General Han Dong-hoon are exposed," adding, "I am currently serving as the head of the Political Revenge Investigation Countermeasures Committee, so I am taking this issue seriously."

He continued, "Looking at the politicians from our party currently under investigation, regardless of whether they are pro-Moon or anti-Moon, all are targets," and said, "Therefore, it is not a matter of pro-Moon or anti-Moon factions, but opposition politicians are exposed to political revenge investigations, so how our party responds when they are indicted is also linked."

He stated, "We need to respond more cautiously to the issue of whether to impose disadvantages simply because someone has been indicted," and added, "This issue should not be considered only in relation to Lee Jae-myung, the party leader candidate."

Regarding these opinions, Chairman Woo said, "This is my personal opinion," and added, "We need to see how the Emergency Response Committee and the Preparatory Committee for the Party Convention will decide, and listen to the opinions of each emergency committee member. I will give my final opinion then."

The Preparatory Committee for the Party Convention is scheduled to hold a plenary meeting on the 17th to discuss matters related to the revision of the party constitution.

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