With "No March 1st Assembly Since the Establishment of the Constitution... Because of Lee"

March Extraordinary National Assembly Sparks Ruling and Opposition Party Dispute
Joo Ho-young: "Democratic Party, Regain Your Composure"
Sung Il-jong: "Cannot Erase Committed Crimes"

On the 24th, the People Power Party launched an offensive before the arrest motion for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was reported to the plenary session of the National Assembly, saying, "If there is no evidence and you are confident, face judgment before a judge." They also told the Democratic Party, which insists on holding an extraordinary session on March 1st, to "regain composure."

Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at the party's floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that day, "The Republic of Korea's judicial system has the obligation to follow the national legal order, and if the person presiding over their own case claims innocence, will all citizens be able to claim innocence and be acquitted?" targeting Lee Jae-myung.

Floor leader Joo also reiterated the position that the March extraordinary session should be held from the 6th of next month, saying, "Since the Constituent National Assembly, there has never been a case where the March extraordinary session was convened on March 1st."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Democratic Party is countering that the March extraordinary session should be convened from the 1st of next month, immediately after the February session ends. In response, floor leader Joo said, "It seems they cannot be away for even a day due to anxiety," and added, "Even if the National Assembly Act states it should start at the beginning of the month, if the 1st is a holiday, it should not be held. This clearly exposes the Democratic Party's vulnerability."

The reason the two parties are engaged in a tug-of-war over the date of the extraordinary session is due to parliamentary immunity from arrest. Members of the National Assembly have immunity from arrest or detention without the consent of the Assembly during sessions, except in cases of being caught in the act.

Lee Jae-myung has had an arrest warrant requested over allegations of corruption in the development of the Wirye New Town Daejang-dong project and suspicions regarding donations to Seongnam FC. The arrest motion was submitted to the National Assembly on the 21st and will be reported to the plenary session on this day, after which it will be put to a secret ballot vote within 72 hours following a 24-hour period. The vote is expected to take place on the 27th.

Seong Il-jong, chairman of the Policy Committee, also said at the meeting that day, "Lee Jae-myung held a press conference for a full hour yesterday to justify his charges," adding, "He cannot even give up the parliamentary immunity he promised to relinquish, and while hiding tightly behind the large opposition party and its members, he is now pleading one-on-one with Democratic Party lawmakers ahead of the vote on the arrest motion."

Chairman Seong added, "Even if Lee calls us gangsters or barbarians with abusive language, it cannot erase the crimes he has already committed," and said, "The people do not want a leader whose conscience is paralyzed."

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