DPRK: "Democrats' Standing Committee Boycott Is a Declaration of War Against the People"

People Power Party Morning Meeting on 18th
Yoon Jae-ok "Wishing Lee Jae-myung a Speedy Recovery...
Emergency Meeting Resolution Crossed the Line"

The People Power Party strongly criticized the Democratic Party's complete boycott of the National Assembly schedule on the 18th, when Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was urgently transported to the hospital, calling it a "declaration of war against the people."

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, said in a general assembly speech on the same day, "(The Democratic Party) seems to intend to abandon people's livelihood and engage in political struggle to overcome the party leader's judicial risk," adding, "I think it is a declaration of war against the people."

Earlier, the Democratic Party submitted a motion to dismiss Prime Minister Han Duck-soo to the National Assembly and notified the ruling party of the cancellation of the National Assembly standing committee schedule. Floor leader Yoon pointed out, "It is a far overstepped claim that forgets the role as the main opposition party and a public party."

Regarding Lee's transfer to the hospital during his hunger strike, he said, "I understand that (Lee's) health condition is very poor," and expressed hope that "he recovers quickly and can perform his duties normally in the National Assembly." However, he also said, "As our party has consistently pointed out from the beginning, the hunger strike has no justification, and the so-called hunger strike exit strategy presented by the main opposition party with 168 seats is truly terrible."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Floor leader Yoon refrained from commenting on plans to visit Lee in the hospital. After the general assembly, he told reporters, "(Regarding the hospital visit) there has been no discussion," adding, "However, it seems that (Lee) is not in a condition to meet people at the hospital right now. We will monitor the situation."

Regarding the Democratic Party's complete suspension of the scheduled standing committee meetings in the National Assembly, he said, "A proper audit can only proceed if it is approved in the standing committee, and there is also a period to notify witnesses attending the audit. It is very regrettable that the scheduled standing committee today was suspended. The floor leaders of both parties will quickly consult to ensure that the National Assembly schedule proceeds normally."

Jeong Jeom-sik, ruling party secretary of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee, also criticized the Democratic Party for notifying the cancellation of the plenary meeting schedule during the general assembly speech on the same day. He said, "Today, the Democratic Party unilaterally notified the cancellation of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting scheduled for 2 p.m. without any special explanation," and urged, "Democratic Party members should attend today's Legislation and Judiciary Committee to ensure that bills directly related to people's livelihood are processed swiftly."

The plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the same day was scheduled to approve the 2023 National Audit plan, the 'Mugshot' disclosure law, and four laws protecting teachers' rights, among others.

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