Jo Eung-cheon "Han Dong-hoon's remarks feel like a YouTuber... intentional provocation"

Amid the National Assembly's rejection of the arrest consent motions for lawmakers Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Sung-man, who left the Democratic Party of Korea over the 2021 party convention money envelope scandal, Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon faced strong criticism from Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon for saying in his explanation of the arrest consent that "20 people who received money envelopes are participating in the vote," with Cho remarking it felt like something from a YouTuber.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 13th, Cho said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show,' "The Justice Minister should have simply said, 'I have requested the warrant based on legal grounds, please approve it,' but this was very much like a politician looking at fandoms," criticizing Han's remarks.

The previous day, the National Assembly held a vote on the arrest consent motions for lawmakers Yoon and Lee. The motion for Yoon was rejected with 139 votes in favor and 145 against, and the motion for Lee was also rejected with 133 votes in favor and 155 against.

Cho explained that until last month, there was a strong atmosphere favoring approval. He said, "At the party reform general meeting on May 14, there were many criticisms that this was an unacceptable act shaking the party's democracy from its foundation. Such things had not happened in the 21st century. There was actually a consensus that we needed to respond firmly to the money envelope incident."

However, as the prosecution's raids continued, a sense of victimization grew, and just before the plenary session to decide on the arrest consent motions, claims of a 'planned investigation' emerged during a party meeting, reversing the mood. Cho said, "One member said, 'It seems the prosecution is treating the National Assembly as a hunting ground and lawmakers as prey. We don't know when we might become prey ourselves.' That comment stuck deeply in people's minds, and when Minister Han explained the grounds for the warrant, he made the problematic '20 people' remark. That ignited the fire."

He added that the party leadership also conducted persuasion efforts targeting lawmakers. He said, "So, I think there was a momentary urge to retaliate. Also, it seems the leadership worked on this. There are reports that the leadership persuaded lawmakers one-on-one to reject the motions."

Cho said, "Based on what has been revealed so far, I cannot confidently say that warrants will be issued against both sitting lawmakers. The possibility of warrant dismissal is quite high," adding, "If Minister Han intended this, he is truly remarkable. It solidifies the image of the Democratic Party as a bulletproof party and creates an effect where the warrants are dismissed in court and the motions are rejected in the National Assembly."

He suggested that Minister Han's remarks were highly intentional. Cho said, "Then, if that is the case, lawmakers Yoon and Lee should not vote. Why mention people who have not spoken, whose identities are unknown, who are only suspects, and whose investigations have not even been properly conducted? This allows the inference that the Democratic Party is a criminal organization and is an intentional provocation."

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