Kim Yong-min "Yoon Impeachment Backlash? Rather a Tailwind... Must Reject Arrest Motion"

"People Will Evaluate the Democratic Party's Sincerity"

Kim Yong-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea who is advocating for the impeachment of President Yoon Seok-yeol over the discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, expressed confidence that if the impeachment fails, it could actually become a tailwind rather than a backlash.

On the 4th, Kim said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "At the very least, I believe the public will think and evaluate that the Democratic Party really tried hard and sincerely," expressing this view.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Kim previously called for President Yoon's impeachment in response to Japan's discharge of contaminated water from Fukushima, but voices within the party questioned the feasibility of this move. However, he said, "From a political engineering perspective, one might think it would cause a political backlash, but more fundamentally, there is a public expectation that the political sphere should play this role, and there are actions that align with the sense of justice. In this situation where the Democratic Party's real leader has pledged to risk his life to stop this, the sincerity of the Democratic Party's measures will be a very important evaluation factor in the next general election," he added.

Regarding whether the party will vote against the arrest warrant for Representative Lee Jae-myung, whose arrest warrant request is becoming more likely, Kim said, "The party leader has said he will give up immunity from arrest, so there can be various analyses and controversies, but personally, since we have clearly defined this as prosecutorial dictatorship, I believe we should vote against it." He added, "The Democratic Party has defined and acknowledged this as a politically motivated investigation, so there is no reason to give it up."

He continued, "Regardless of the party leader's expression of intent to give up (on the arrest warrant), my voting right is my constitutional right," adding, "The immunity from arrest was created as a way for the Democratic Party to fight against this prosecutorial dictatorship, so it needs to be exercised in accordance with the purpose of the system."

When asked whether the party's mood is shifting toward voting against in relation to Representative Lee's hunger strike, Kim said, "Such talk keeps coming up, and conservative media are continuing to criticize that the hunger strike is to avoid investigation or arrest," adding, "(Regarding the arrest warrant) they want to see if there is evidence or a real risk of flight, and these things should be judged based on such criteria."

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