Jo Eung-cheon "Should have given up immunity from arrest earlier... Doing this doesn't mean 'let's just go'"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated in his parliamentary negotiation group representative speech that he would "give up immunity from arrest." In response, Democratic Party lawmaker Cho Eung-cheon expressed regret, saying, "You should have done it earlier," showing a sense of belated lament. He also said that the calls for resignation within the party would not cease just because of the declaration to give up immunity from arrest.

On the 20th, Cho said on YTN's "News King Park Ji-hoon" program, "Everyone was surprised at first, and then the reaction was, 'Well done, well done.' But in my case, I thought it should have been done earlier," expressing his view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The day before, Lee said in his negotiation group representative speech at the National Assembly, "I will give up the right of immunity from arrest regarding political investigations against me. If summoned, I will respond not just 10 times but 100 times, as I have done so far."

Regarding Lee's declaration to give up immunity from arrest, Cho said, "Realistically, according to the National Assembly Act, the July session is in recess. July and August until the 15th are recess periods, so to bring a motion for consent to arrest, an extraordinary session would have to be convened in July, which I think would face severe criticism." In other words, it would be difficult to bring a motion for consent to arrest to the National Assembly during July and August.

He also said, "Professor Kim Eun-kyung seems to be starting the Innovation Committee meetings from today, but the Innovation Committee cannot only discuss things like the abolition of the delegate system and party member recall, which are currently being talked about by pro-Lee factions," adding, "We also need to talk about restoring morality, but if this is stuck, we cannot move forward even a step. So, this is a way to open the way and create space." He explained that this was to support the activities of the Innovation Committee.

Regarding the narrowly defeated motion for consent to arrest in February, Cho seemed to be considering the possibility of the next motion being passed. He said, "The third reason is that the vote on the motion for consent to arrest at the end of February was narrowly defeated. So if it comes again, there is a possibility it could be passed," adding, "At that time, there were quite a few lawmakers who said, 'This is just this one time,' so if it is passed, it would be a huge political blow."

When asked whether the declaration to give up immunity from arrest would reduce calls for resignation within the party, Cho said, "(The calls for resignation) are not completely connected to the giving up of immunity from arrest. They are related to the controversy over the 'bulletproof' issue and judicial risks," adding, "There are also leadership risks and various other complex problems, so just because this was done, it doesn't mean there are no problems and we can just move on. It is not directly connected like that."

Regarding the increasing possibility of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk's daughter, Cho Min, being indicted by the prosecution and the resulting higher likelihood of Cho Kuk running for office, he said, "A member of the National Assembly is a position that must prioritize national interests and dedicate everything for the freedom and welfare of the people. It is not a position to settle personal grievances or personal reputation," adding, "If I may say again, if former Minister Cho runs, I worry that the political framework of judging the current government will shift to themes like 'fairness,' 'deprivation,' and 'betrayal.'"

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