Full-scale political turmoil begins... Opposition party headquarters raided, National Assembly audit 'all stop' (Comprehensive)

Prosecutors Request Warrant for Former Minister Seo Wook, Summon Former Chief of Staff Noh Young-min on 19th, Arrest Kim Yong, Close Associate of Lee, Deputy Director of Democratic Research Institute
Afternoon Raid on Democratic Party Headquarters
Opposition Declares "Full Suspension of National Assembly Audit from Now... All Members to Gather at Headquarters to Fight" Announcing Full-Scale Response

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] Following the prosecution's request for arrest warrants for former Minister of National Defense Seo Wook and former Commissioner of the Korea Coast Guard Kim Hong-hee, on the very next day, the 19th, former Chief of Staff to President Moon Jae-in, Noh Young-min, and Kim Yong, deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute and a close aide to Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, were respectively summoned and detained, signaling the full-scale launch of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration's political purge.

Moreover, tensions reached a peak as the prosecution conducted a search and seizure at the Democratic Party's central headquarters that afternoon. The opposition party strongly condemned it as 'political oppression' and announced a boycott of the National Assembly audit.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 19th, Floor Leader Park Hong-geun, through an 'Emergency Situation Notice,' called for a complete halt to the ongoing National Assembly audit and requested all former Democratic Party members to gather at the central party headquarters.

Floor Leader Park stated, "The Yoon Seok-yeol political prosecution is attempting to conduct a search and seizure at our party headquarters," adding, "A search and seizure of the opposition party's central headquarters is unprecedented," explaining the situation.

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Jin Sung-jun held a briefing in front of the party headquarters, saying, "Floor Leader Park, after consulting with the party, has ordered the suspension of the National Assembly audit from this moment and instructed all Democratic Party members to assemble at the central party headquarters in protest against the unprecedented attempt to search and seize the opposition party's central headquarters."

Senior Deputy Floor Leader Jin said, "Our party strongly protests the 'search and seizure show' carried out as part of the opposition suppression and states once again that it will never tolerate it," criticizing, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration is staging a political show to suppress the opposition in an attempt to recover its plummeting approval ratings." He continued, "We firmly reject the political audits by the Board of Audit and Inspection and the political investigations by the prosecution that have taken place so far, and as part of this, we resolutely reject the reckless attempt to search and seize the party headquarters. If the administration insists on continuing this reckless investigation, we solemnly warn that the National Assembly may not open its doors again."

The National Assembly audit, which began on the 4th, is approaching its final stage ahead of the comprehensive audit scheduled for the 24th. However, the Democratic Party has expressed that it is difficult to continue the audit in light of the unprecedented search and seizure of the opposition party, and some standing committee audits are expected to face disruptions.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Floor Spokesperson Oh Young-hwan stated in a written briefing, "The Yoon Seok-yeol government's incompetence and arrogance are being covered up by an unprecedented political oppression investigation against the opposition," and declared, "The Democratic Party will now fully suspend the National Assembly audit, and all members of the National Assembly will gather at the party headquarters to fight against the prosecution republic."

Democratic Party lawmakers continuously voiced their condemnation of the prosecution's search and seizure on that day.

In the afternoon, Secretary-General Cho Jung-sik blocked the prosecution's search and seizure in front of the party headquarters, criticizing it as "an unprecedented ruthless political oppression against the largest opposition party in the history of South Korean politics."

Regarding Deputy Director Kim Yong, who is under investigation for violating the Political Funds Act, Secretary-General Cho said, "The deputy director strongly denies the related allegations. Nevertheless, the prosecution came not only to his residence, body, and vehicle but even to the Democratic Party's central headquarters," adding, "The deputy director was appointed only recently. He received his appointment letter on the 11th and has not brought any personal belongings or equipment to the party headquarters."

He then directly criticized the government, saying, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration, whose approval rating has fallen to 24%, is resorting to a lowly political act, using a political show as an escape route."

Currently serving as the director of the Democratic Research Institute, Representative Noh Woong-rae also released a statement explaining, "Deputy Director Kim was appointed less than ten days ago, and there is no personal office for him at the research institute." He emphasized, "If they are going to conduct a search in such a place, it would be better to search a favorite restaurant instead," and added, "Conducting a search and seizure before the ink on the appointment letter has even dried is a thoroughly premeditated planned investigation."

He continued, "The investigation into Kim Geon-hee is as slow as a grub, but the suppression of the opposition is carried out as swiftly as roasting beans over lightning," and criticized, "This search and seizure is a clear political oppression."

On the same day, the Democratic Party Staff Association also issued a statement, defining "the prosecution's attempt to search and seize the Democratic Party's central headquarters as an invasion of the heart of the largest opposition party." They urged, "Do not commit the mistake of abandoning cooperation, unity, and livelihood politics and focusing on political retaliation," and called on "the prosecution to immediately stop the attempt to execute the search and seizure."

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