Jin Jeong-seok: "The Rejection of the Democratic Party's Arrest Consent Will Not Be Forgiven by the People"

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwak Min-jae] Jeong Jin-seok, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, said regarding the arrest consent bill for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, "If the Democratic Party rejects the arrest consent bill for Lee Jae-myung, the people will never forgive the Democratic Party."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 19th, Chairman Jeong said on his social media (SNS), "The overwhelming majority of the people are closely watching the local corruption of Lee Jae-myung, former mayor of Seongnam and former governor of Gyeonggi Province," expressing this view.

Chairman Jeong stated, "The criminal charges against Lee Jae-myung are 'local government corruption,'" and asked, "Why is punishing the Daejang-dong breach of trust, Seongnam FC bribery, and illegal remittance to North Korea crimes considered 'opposition party oppression' or 'political retaliation'?"

He also recalled Lee’s pledge during the last presidential election to give up immunity from arrest, questioning, "Isn't Lee Jae-myung, former mayor of Seongnam, the person who declared that even the president should be sent to prison if guilty?"

Chairman Jeong cited recent public opinion polls showing that a majority of the people believe "Lee Jae-myung faces judicial risks," and that nearly half of respondents think "the arrest consent bill should be passed if submitted to the National Assembly."

He added, "If the leader of the main opposition party should not go to prison even if guilty, then with 160 seats, pass a 'Main Opposition Leader Judicial Processing Prohibition Act' in the National Assembly," and said, "Isn't that an easy task for the Democratic Party, which recklessly pushes through legislation by force?"

Meanwhile, the ruling and opposition parties have agreed to hold a plenary session on the 27th to vote on the arrest consent bill for Lee. After being reported at the plenary session on the 24th, the vote will be held three days later. Since Lee is a sitting member of the National Assembly, he cannot be arrested or detained without the Assembly’s consent during the session.

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