'Let's Waive Parliamentary Immunity' Proposal by Floor Leader Faces Deliberation in Democratic Party

Park Kwang-on "Proposes Officially Waiving Immunity from Arrest"
Unable to Reach Conclusion, Decided to Prioritize Discussion at Next General Assembly

The Democratic Party of Korea held a party caucus on the 13th to discuss the waiver of parliamentary immunity but failed to reach a conclusion. The discussion on waiving parliamentary immunity, proposed as the first reform measure by the party's Innovation Committee, will be revisited later.

On the same day, the Democratic Party held a caucus at the National Assembly to discuss the abolition of parliamentary immunity proposed by the Innovation Committee led by Kim Eun-kyung. Park Kwang-on, the party floor leader, said in his opening remarks, "The Innovation Committee has proposed tasks to strengthen the Democratic Party's ethics," and added, "I hope the caucus will endorse the Innovation Committee's first reform proposal." He continued, "This is also a minimum measure for the people who desire change in the Democratic Party," and stated, "I hope we can officially declare here today our resolution to relinquish parliamentary immunity in cases of legitimate warrant requests."

After the session turned private, there was a discussion following a proposal by Democratic Party lawmaker Kang Hoon-sik, emphasizing respect and thorough discussion of the Innovation Committee's first proposal, but no final conclusion was reached.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee So-young, the Democratic Party's floor spokesperson, briefed after the caucus, saying, "There were various opinions regarding the Innovation Committee's proposal to waive parliamentary immunity," and added, "From the standpoint of respecting the Innovation Committee's proposal, there was an exchange of diverse opinions aimed at restoring the party's ethics and increasing public trust. We decided to continue in-depth discussions on this issue and reach a thorough conclusion."

She said, "Including the next caucus, this issue will be prioritized for ongoing discussion," and added, "We will organize the various claims and opinions raised during the caucus and explain them in detail to the Innovation Committee, going through a process of communication."

Regarding opposing lawmakers, the spokesperson conveyed, "There were opinions that careful consideration is needed regarding politically motivated warrant requests by the prosecution," and "There was a suggestion to thoroughly debate the negative consequences that could arise if a uniform decision is made without strict consideration."

On the previous day, Kim Eun-kyung, chairperson of the Democratic Party's Innovation Committee, warned at a press briefing about hesitation in fully accepting the first reform proposal, saying, "If what we have presented is not accepted, the Democratic Party will collapse." Kim said at the time, "Technically, it is a good system, but the basic intent is that it should not appear as a 'bulletproof' National Assembly to the public," and added, "We are not saying to waive parliamentary immunity even against unjust prosecutorial power." Regarding the criteria, she said, "The public can judge what is unjust or not, and there are many legal experts within the Democratic Party who will assess and guide accordingly."

The forum continued with discussions on support measures for fishermen affected by the discharge of Fukushima radioactive contaminated water, including recognizing social disasters such as damage caused by radioactive contamination as fisheries disasters under the Agricultural and Fisheries Disaster Act, the status of legal amendments following the Constitutional Court's ruling of unconstitutionality on parts of the Public Official Election Act, and the progress of the special committee verifying Fukushima contaminated water.

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