Lee Eun-ju: "President Yoon's rule far exceeds the line of political purging... Lee Jae-myung should pursue a people's livelihood National Assembly instead of a special prosecutor National Assembly"

Eunju Lee, Emergency Response Committee Chair of the Justice Party
Representative Speech of Non-Negotiating Group

Eunju Lee, Emergency Response Committee Chair of the Justice Party, is attending the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 19th and delivering an opening remark. Photo by Dongju Yoon doso7@

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] Lee Eun-ju, Emergency Committee Chairperson of the Justice Party, on the 27th urged the government and ruling party, as well as the Democratic Party of Korea, who are clashing over political retaliation and special investigations, to stop the political retaliation controversy and focus on resolving livelihood issues.

On the same day, Chairperson Lee requested a change in stance from President Yoon Seok-yeol and Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, during the National Assembly’s non-negotiating group representative speech.

She said, "The governance led by investigative agencies must stop," adding, "The president’s pledge that ‘there is no political retaliation in my dictionary’ has ultimately become a broken promise," and criticized, "The prosecution is zeroing in on the leader of the main opposition party, and the Board of Audit and Inspection is poised to send the entire cabinet of the previous administration to prison."

Chairperson Lee warned, "If wrongdoing is found, punishment should be possible, but the formidable power granted to rulers must be exercised within the virtue of restraint," and added, "Relentless investigations against political opponents have never once led to successful governance."

She criticized, "The Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s governance through investigations has far exceeded the line," and said, "The independent institution, the Board of Audit and Inspection, has degenerated into an agency that sends text messages to the presidential office and reports directly, and it is obsessed with criminalizing the entire policies of the previous administration, from the nuclear phase-out to income-led growth, including audits that violated internal procedures." She continued, "There are probably few citizens who believe that the president’s intentions are not reflected in this," and stated, "Judgment on the previous administration’s policies should be left to the evaluation of citizens participating in elections."

Chairperson Lee also urged the Democratic Party to shift from a special investigation National Assembly to a livelihood-focused National Assembly.

She said, "I hoped that the unfortunate situation where the opposition party leader comes under investigation for election fund issues would not occur," and requested, "If so, the strictest parties should be entrusted with the investigation and the straightforward method of proving innocence should be chosen." She added, "The most worrisome point is that the regular National Assembly session could be disrupted over the pros and cons of the special investigation," and warned, "A special investigation bill led by the main opposition party will lead to the suspension of the National Assembly’s functions." She said, "The Justice Party will observe the prosecution’s investigation and indictments and decide on the necessity of a special investigation."

Chairperson Lee said, "There are far more urgent issues awaiting us than a special investigation," and urged, "To implement the tasks mentioned by Representative Lee, such as comprehensive loss compensation without blind spots, raising the basic pension, and a one-stop support center for digital sexual crime victims, during the regular National Assembly session, I earnestly ask for reconsideration so that the special investigation does not become a black hole in politics."

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