Joo Ho-young: "Lee Jae-myung Diminishes the Dignity of the National Assembly"... Opposition Points Out 'Double Standards'

Democratic Party's 'Naeronambul' Organized by Category
Support Given to the '3 Major Reforms' in Pension, Labor, and Education

[Asia Economy Reporters Kum Boryeong and Kim Youngwon] On the 14th, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized in the National Assembly negotiation group representative speech that "Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, being accused of various corruption charges greatly damages not only the Democratic Party but also the overall dignity of the National Assembly." Introducing the late Lee Kun-hee, chairman of Samsung Electronics', remark on '4th-rate Korean politics,' he wrote a political confession but pointedly criticized the Democratic Party's 'Naeronambul (double standards: what I do is romance, what others do is immorality)' in detail.

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is delivering a negotiation group representative speech at the National Assembly plenary session hall in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 14th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

On that day, Floor Leader Joo said, "When Lee was mayor of Seongnam, he said we should create a country where even the president would be arrested if he commits a crime, and suggested handcuffing President Park Geun-hye the moment she left the Blue House main gate and sending her to a detention center." He criticized, "Now, Lee is insisting that the legitimate investigation into his various suspicions is political oppression." He added, "The Democratic Party, especially Lee, who pledged to give up immunity from arrest, is being watched by the public to see if they will keep that promise." While ruling party lawmakers applauded in response, loud voices from opposition lawmakers followed.

Floor Leader Joo explained the Democratic Party's double standards during its five years in power in detail by categorizing them. Under the 'Personnel' category, he said, "President Moon Jae-in appointed as many as 34 minister-level or higher officials without opposition party consent, the highest ever," and "Yet, when President Yoon Suk-yeol was elected, the Democratic Party threatened to firmly give a red card to disqualified individuals lacking the ability and qualifications to serve the people."

Regarding 'Fiscal Double Standards,' he pointed out that in September 2015, Moon Jae-in, then leader of the New Politics Alliance for Democracy, criticized the Park Geun-hye administration's 2016 budget for the national debt ratio exceeding 40% of GDP, considered the fiscal soundness threshold. He then highlighted that under the Moon administration, the era of national debt exceeding 1,000 trillion won began, and by the end of 2021, the national debt ratio rose to 46.9%.

Floor Leader Joo emphasized that the term 'Democratic' does not suit the Democratic Party. He said, "As soon as the Democratic Party secured an overwhelming majority of seats, it paralyzed most of the core elements of the consensus system, reducing parliamentary democracy to a mere formality," and "The Democratic Party's trademark has become the neutralization of the agenda adjustment committee through disguised defections or mobilizing other parties and independent lawmakers." He also detailed how, to pass the 'Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights' (검수완박) law, Democratic Party lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja was made independent, and lawmaker Min Hyung-bae was made to leave the party and sent to the Judiciary Committee. During this process, the ruling party shouted "Double standards," "Please reflect a bit," while the opposition raised their voices saying "This seems a bit harsh," leading to loud exchanges.

Regarding political reform, Floor Leader Joo said, "Korean politics, which commonly has a presidential system and a two-party structure, is an environment where one party can only come to power by defeating the other, so constant attacks on the opposing party are inevitable," and "That is the real problem, and if we say there is no other way, then this opportunity must be used to fix it."

He defined crises such as security, climate, and low birthrate as the 'third great crisis' following the Japanese colonial period and the Korean War. Floor Leader Joo said, "Although it has not yet fully materialized, I believe its severity is no less than the previous two."

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