An Min-seok: "Lee Jae-myung's Waiver of Immunity a Masterstroke... Holds the Winning Card"

"Appropriate Timing with 10 Months Left Until the General Election"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced in his parliamentary negotiation group representative speech that he would "give up immunity from arrest." In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Min-seok called it a "masterstroke," saying, "Even if he is arrested, Leader Lee has not lost politically but has achieved a great victory."

Ahn Min-seok, member of the Democratic Party of Korea./Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

On the 20th, Ahn said on SBS's "Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show," "Even if he is arrested, during this period of opposition party suppression, would they arrest the opposition leader over something like this? Public sentiment will boil over significantly," expressing this view.

He explained that a "frame of opposition party suppression" would emerge. He said, "The opposition leader has not been suppressed like this in the past. And if he is not arrested, it will lead to a kind of acquittal for Leader Lee," adding, "So Leader Lee has been dealt a winning hand."

Ahn said, "The prosecution's dilemma will be revealed. Whether he is arrested or not, it's a problem," and added, "Overall, in the context where the prosecution has been suppressing the opposition party, yesterday marked a turning point where the situation is reversing."

When asked by the host if it would have been better if Leader Lee had made this move when the first arrest motion was raised, he replied, "When putting ramen in, you have to add it at the right time when the water is boiling for the ramen to be chewy and delicious," and continued, "Politics is often called the art of timing. There is timing. This card was played at a very appropriate moment when tensions were rising."

Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon responded to Leader Lee's declaration of "giving up immunity from arrest" by saying, "I don't know how he will put it into practice." Regarding this, Ahn said, "Minister Han and the prosecution will be troubled. Yes, so they cannot avoid requesting an arrest warrant, and now the ball is in the prosecution's court," adding, "They are caught in a dilemma where they cannot do either way, and whatever decision they make, the prosecution will play their hand, but whichever card they play, it will be a card filled with considerable concern for the prosecution."

Regarding arrest motions for other Democratic Party lawmakers, he said, "Until now, decisions were made case by case through party meetings, or individual lawmakers were left to decide on their own," and added, "After Leader Lee's declaration yesterday to give up immunity from arrest, the response policy for those lawmakers under suspicion will probably be organized at the party level."

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