Democrats Rush 'Special Prosecutor Law', Unilaterally Push Through Judiciary Committee Subcommittee... People Power Party Absent

Ruling Party: "Proposed to hold it on the 18th~19th"
Opposition: "Do they have no intention of special investigation at all?"

Members of the ruling Democratic Party belonging to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a subcommittee meeting alone to discuss the special prosecution law related to the Daejang-dong '50 Billion Club.' Ruling party members opposed this, claiming that the opposition unilaterally scheduled the subcommittee meeting during ongoing schedule negotiations. The Democratic Party is expected to continue pressuring the People Power Party and the Justice Party to pass the special prosecution law within April.

On the morning of the 6th, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held the first subcommittee meeting at the National Assembly to review three bills related to the 50 Billion Club special prosecution. Previously, on the 30th of last month, the committee held a plenary session to discuss these bills and decided to review them later in the subcommittee. However, due to disagreements during schedule negotiations between the ruling and opposition parties, the subcommittee meeting was held solely by the opposition members without the participation of the ruling party members.

Democratic Party members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee stated at a press conference the day before, "We promised to review and process the bills promptly, but the People Power Party is not responding to schedule negotiations for the first subcommittee meeting," adding, "If the People Power Party refuses to participate until the end, the Democratic Party will fulfill the people's mandate alone."

However, the ruling party countered that the opposition unilaterally forced the subcommittee meeting. Jeong Jeom-sik, the ruling party's floor leader and a People Power Party member, left the meeting room immediately after attending the subcommittee meeting that day. He said, "It is clear that the first subcommittee meeting was requested by the floor leaders this week, and the People Power Party proposed holding the subcommittee on the 18th or 19th," adding, "Despite ongoing negotiations between the two parties, I was unilaterally notified of the meeting by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's administrative officer at 3:26 PM yesterday (the 5th)." The People Power Party maintains its position to hold the subcommittee after the scheduled plenary committee meetings from the 10th to the 13th. The Deputy Minister of Justice, whom the opposition requested to attend, was also absent from the subcommittee meeting that day.

Furthermore, Representative Jeong denied the necessity of the special prosecution itself. He argued, "Recently, the Supreme Prosecutors' Office has reinforced the manpower of the Anti-Corruption Investigation Division 1 to quickly uncover the facts of the case," adding, "Introducing a special prosecution targeting only the 50 Billion Club would take nine months to launch, risking evidence destruction and fabrication, and splitting the Daejang-dong investigation, which is closely linked to the 50 Billion Club, would hinder the fact-finding process."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, Representative Ki said, "I cannot shake off the concern that the ruling party has no intention of conducting the 50 Billion Club special prosecution and that it is a kind of diversion or excuse," adding, "They should not trample on the people's wishes with such absurd logic. Once again, I hope the People Power Party will call off their strike, come to the discussion table, and participate in the review of the 50 Billion Club special prosecution."

Regarding the necessity of the special prosecution, he also pointed out, "The prosecution neglected the investigation for two years," and criticized, "Now, saying that the prosecution investigation cannot proceed if a special prosecution is introduced is extremely irresponsible."

The Justice Party also criticized the ruling party's attitude and urged for negotiations. Lee Eun-ju, the floor leader of the Justice Party, said at the executive committee meeting that day, "How can the ruling party's promise be so light as a feather?" and pointed out, "It was the People Power Party itself that agreed to submit the special prosecution law to the subcommittee for review." She then urged, "As claimed in the last plenary meeting, agree to the Justice Party's special prosecution bill."

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee plans to hold another subcommittee meeting on the morning of the 10th to continue the review. Representative Ki pressured the ruling party at the end of the subcommittee meeting that day, saying, "I hope the party (People Power Party) will organize its position and engage in active discussions at the next meeting."

The Democratic Party is expected to exert efforts to pass the special prosecution law, which was originally pledged to be processed by March, within this month. On the same day, Park Hong-geun, the Democratic Party floor leader, said at the morning policy coordination meeting, "The People Power Party's behavior of not even confirming attendance at the subcommittee until now is clearly a stalling tactic to derail the special prosecution law," and urged the Justice Party, "To respond to the people's demand for fairness and justice regarding the 50 Billion Club and Mrs. Kim Geon-hee, I hope you will observe the People Power Party's behavior at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee today and calmly judge what the realistic measures are."

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee also expressed willingness to negotiate, focusing on the Justice Party's proposal. However, discussions are expected to continue over whether to grant the 'special prosecution recommendation right,' a contentious issue, to the minor negotiation parties.

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