Joo Ho-young "Lee Jae-myung, Concerned About Evidence Tampering... Hope the Opposition Approves the Arrest Motion"

"Does Saying You're Innocent Make You Innocent?"
Arguing Against Holding the March Extraordinary National Assembly

[Asia Economy Reporter Kum Bo-ryeong] Joo Ho-young, the floor leader of the People Power Party, expressed on the 19th that "the concern of evidence destruction, which is a condition for detention, has materialized" regarding Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who has had an arrest warrant requested over allegations of corruption in the Daejang-dong development project.

On the morning of the same day, Joo held a press conference at the National Assembly main building and stated, "There are issues of coercion and various signs of evidence destruction, so it naturally constitutes grounds for detention."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, is holding a press briefing on current issues at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the morning of the 19th. (Photo by Yonhap News)

He continued, "If there is no evidence and it was a legitimate exercise of licensing authority, then there is no reason to refuse the warrant review," emphasizing, "Does Lee Jae-myung's claim of innocence make him innocent?"

After the press conference, when meeting with reporters, Joo responded to remarks that "the leader of the main opposition party claims where would he run away to" by saying, "I believe there is a concern of evidence destruction," and explained, "I think there have been various attempts to destroy evidence, such as whom he met and what was discussed during that time."

Joo also criticized Lee, saying, "Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party pledged to abolish parliamentary immunity, and stated that even the sitting president should be detained if guilty," adding, "I hope he keeps the promise he made himself and does not hide behind parliamentary immunity."

Furthermore, Joo argued that if the motion to consent to Lee's arrest is rejected in the National Assembly, the March extraordinary session should not be convened.

He said, "If the Democratic Party and Lee are confident, they should approve the arrest consent motion at the plenary session on the 27th," and added, "If not, they should not convene the March extraordinary session and proceed directly to the substantive warrant review. If the Democratic Party unilaterally reconvenes the extraordinary session, that would be cowardly."

The motion to consent to Lee's arrest will be reported at the National Assembly plenary session on the 24th and voted on the 27th. The February extraordinary session runs until the 28th. According to Article 44 of the Constitution, a member of the National Assembly cannot be arrested or detained during a session without the Assembly's consent, except in cases of being caught in the act.

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