‘1 Special Prosecutor 4 Parliamentary Committees’ Where to?…Weakened Combat Power of the Democrats, ‘Empty Echo’

Blocked by passport opposition, '1 Special Prosecutor 4 Parliamentary Investigations'... Internal party skepticism too
Opposition: "Government responsible for Fukushima contaminated water discharge"... Yoon remains silent
Lee's judicial risk resurfaces... Yellow Envelope Act and Broadcasting 3 Laws face 'red light'

The Democratic Party of Korea is struggling in its offensive against the ruling party due to a 'lack of combat power.' As soon as the August extraordinary session of the National Assembly began, they called for the promotion of '1 special prosecutor and 4 parliamentary investigations' and adopted a party resolution to block the discharge of contaminated water from the Fukushima nuclear power plant, but the session ended without any significant achievements. With ongoing judicial risks within the party, including those involving leader Lee Jae-myung, and the frontlines being spread across multiple issues, concerns are rising about the party ending up 'empty-handed.'

Representative Lee Jae-myung, Floor Leader Park Kwang-on, and other members of the Democratic Party of Korea are shouting slogans demanding a government investigation into the change of the terminus of the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway at the policy members' meeting held at the National Assembly on the 13th of last month. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Opposition shouted ‘1 special prosecutor and 4 parliamentary investigations’ including Jamboree and Lee Dong-kwan... but stalled due to ruling party opposition

On the 16th, the Democratic Party announced at the Supreme Council meeting that it would push for '1 special prosecutor and 4 parliamentary investigations.' They proposed a special prosecutor investigation into the case of the late Corporal Chae Soo-geun, who died while searching for flood victims, and parliamentary investigations into four issues: ▲alleged preferential treatment in changing the terminus of the Seoul-Yangpyeong highway for the family of First Lady Kim Keon-hee ▲the dismissal resolution of the KBS chairman by the Korea Communications Commission ▲the Saemangeum Jamboree mismanagement incident ▲and the Osong underground passage disaster during the heavy rains.

However, the '1 special prosecutor and 4 parliamentary investigations' plan has made no progress due to opposition from the ruling party. In the case of the special prosecutor, a standing special prosecutor is appointed at the discretion of Minister of Justice Han Dong-hoon. A general special prosecutor must go through the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which is currently chaired by Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party.

The push for parliamentary investigations is also sluggish. Parliamentary investigations require cooperation from the government and ruling party in processes such as witness summons and document requests. However, the People Power Party denies the necessity of these investigations and continues to oppose them.

Within the Democratic Party, there are skeptical views about simultaneously pursuing multiple parliamentary investigations that are difficult to realize even individually. The argument is that handling too many issues in parallel expands the frontlines and disperses party strength. Additionally, with each standing committee beginning preparations for the upcoming National Assembly audit in about a month, the schedule is tight, making it difficult to fully concentrate on these issues.

Representative Lee Jae-myung, Floor Leader Park Kwang-on, along with Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers and citizens, are shouting slogans on the 25th in front of the Admiral Yi Sun-sin statue at Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul, ahead of the national march to stop the discharge of Fukushima contaminated water. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Raised government responsibility over Japan’s contaminated water discharge... but Yoon remains silent

The Democratic Party’s offensive against the ruling party regarding Japan’s Fukushima nuclear power plant contaminated water discharge is similar. The Democratic Party launched a large-scale public campaign to highlight the Yoon Seok-yeol administration’s responsibility for the discharge. On the evening of the 23rd, one day before the discharge began, they held a candlelight rally attended by about 3,000 people (estimated by the Democratic Party), including lawmakers, aides, party officials, Seoul city councilors, district councilors, and party members. On the morning of the 25th, riding this momentum, leader Lee Jae-myung and other Democratic Party lawmakers and officials marched from Gwanghwamun Square in Seoul to the Yongsan Presidential Office, focusing all efforts on outdoor protests.

In addition, the Democratic Party announced plans for legislative battles inside the National Assembly. On the 24th, they held an emergency party meeting and adopted four bills as party resolutions, including the 'Special Act on the Ban and Promotion of Import of Seafood Exposed to Radioactive Contaminants from Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant.' These bills broadly ban the import of seafood suspected of radioactive contamination and aim to claim compensation from the Japanese government for damages suffered by the fisheries industry and fishermen due to the contaminated water discharge.

However, public opinion has not yet moved explosively. Although the Democratic Party’s approval rating has slightly increased recently, it still lags behind the People Power Party within the margin of error. According to a survey conducted by Gallup Korea from the 22nd to the 24th targeting 1,000 adults nationwide aged 18 and over, the Democratic Party’s support rose 2 percentage points to 32%, while the People Power Party’s support fell 2 percentage points to 34%.

Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is suspected of receiving special favors in the development of Baekhyeon-dong, is appearing at the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office in Seocho-gu, Seoul on the 17th for investigation. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

‘Lee’s judicial risk’ resurfaces... Yellow Envelope Act and Broadcasting 3 Acts face uncertain passage

Progress on key bills has also slowed. Initially, the Democratic Party planned to push through the 'Yellow Envelope Act' (amendments to Articles 2 and 3 of the Labor Union Act) and the 'Broadcasting 3 Acts' (amendments to the Broadcasting Act, the Broadcasting Culture Promotion Act, and the Korea Educational Broadcasting System Act) during the August extraordinary session, but after negotiations with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo and the People Power Party’s floor leadership, they decided to postpone to the regular session.

The Democratic Party has pledged to pass these bills within September, but this also looks challenging. The ruling People Power Party has announced plans to filibuster against the bills. If the People Power Party proceeds with unlimited debate, it could disrupt the entire 100-day regular session schedule, making it burdensome for the Democratic Party to push the bills through.

In September, leader Lee Jae-myung’s 'judicial risk' is expected to resurface. There are expectations that the prosecution will request an arrest warrant for Lee during September. If the warrant is requested during the session, the National Assembly must vote on a 'consent to arrest' motion. This could lead to the party splitting again into 'pro-Lee' and 'anti-Lee' factions, causing internal conflict.

In fact, when the consent to arrest motion for Lee was voted on in February, the opposition votes reached 138, narrowly defeating the motion. However, afterward, some hardline party members stirred controversy by threatening to identify lawmakers who voted for approval. If a consent to arrest vote occurs again during this regular session, there are concerns that a large number of defections within the Democratic Party will trigger factional strife.

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