Controversy Over 'Bulletproof National Assembly' After Rejection of Arrest Consent... Opposition Blames Han Dong-hoon

Following the rejection of the arrest consent motions for Rep. No Woong-rae and party leader Lee Jae-myung, the motions for Reps. Yoon Kwan-seok and Lee Sung-man were also rejected, further solidifying the 'bulletproof frame' surrounding the Democratic Party. The ruling party launched a focused attack, claiming the rejection was to protect the party leader, while the opposition, despite concerns over the bulletproof controversy, raised their voices saying that Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon’s statement during the explanation of the arrest consent motion?that "20 people who received money envelopes are participating in the vote"?was the reason for the rejection of the motions.

Jeong Seong-ho, a leading pro-Lee (친명, Chinmyeong) Democratic Party lawmaker, said on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae’s Focus' on the 13th, in response to the host’s question, "Isn’t the explanation of the arrest consent a matter of the public’s right to know?" that "It is against the highest principles of individual criminal justice, such as the presumption of innocence and the principle of non-detention." He emphasized, "No Minister of Justice, in any previous administration, except Minister Han, has ever explained it in this way."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Democratic Party lawmaker Ko Min-jung also said on CBS's 'Park Jae-hong’s One-on-One Match' the day before, "I think it crossed the line of what a minister can say. It was a highly emotional remark," adding, "There are nearly 170 Democratic Party lawmakers, and by saying that, it was as if all of them were treated as potential criminals."

Although some Democratic Party lawmakers initially considered approving the motion, they were provoked by Minister Han’s remarks and increasingly chose to reject it. Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon said on SBS's 'Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show' that just before the plenary session, a lawmaker said at a party meeting, "It seems the prosecution treats the National Assembly as a hunting ground and lawmakers as prey. We never know when we might become prey ourselves." He added, "That comment was deeply ingrained in the minds of the lawmakers, and when Minister Han explained the grounds for the warrant, he made the problematic '20 people' remark. That was the spark that ignited the situation."

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Won-wook also said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin’s Morning Journal,' "When Minister Han submitted the reasons for the arrest consent motion yesterday, he made a provocative remark, 'There are 20 lawmakers here who received money envelopes. They will be the casting vote. Is it fair for those people to vote?' Such remarks seemed to strongly provoke the thoughts of lawmakers present," adding, "It was almost like a request to reject the motion."

However, the People Power Party raised their voices, saying the fundamental cause was the 'bulletproofing' of party leader Lee Jae-myung. Yoo Sang-beom, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, said on SBS Radio that "The rejection of the arrest consent motion was entirely due to the judicial risks surrounding party leader Lee," and claimed, "This has led to widespread moral insensitivity within the Democratic Party." He argued that criticizing Minister Han’s remarks was merely an 'excuse.'

People Power Party lawmaker Kim Jung-jae also said on YTN's 'News King with Park Ji-hoon,' "Ultimately, it is to protect party leader Lee. That’s why Rep. No Woong-rae’s motion was rejected, Lee’s was rejected, and now Reps. Yoon and Lee’s motions have been consecutively rejected," adding, "Didn’t party leader Lee pledge during the presidential election to abolish the privilege of non-arrest? But now he is breaking that promise himself."

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