Lee Jae-myung: "Yoon Must Reflect on Government Failures and Change Policy Direction"

Minjoo Holds First Supreme Council Meeting After Landslide Victory in General Election
Special Prosecutor Bill for 'Marine Corps Member Death Incident' Expected to be Pushed Through
Changed Atmosphere Within Ruling Party... Some Plan to 'Support'

The Democratic Party of Korea, which achieved a 'landslide victory' in the 22nd general election, has officially launched an offensive targeting the Yoon Seok-yeol administration. Party leader Lee Jae-myung sharply criticized President Yoon, urging him to "reflect on the failures of state affairs so far and use this as an opportunity to shift the government's policy direction."

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 15th, Lee Jae-myung said, "There have been many reports regarding personnel reshuffles in the Cabinet and the Presidential Office, but looking at the names being floated, I am quite concerned whether the President truly intends to accept the will of the people expressed in the general election," adding, "I believe he must have already seen what results come from ignoring the people's will and confronting them." He strongly criticized figures close to President Yoon, such as former Minister Won Hee-ryong and lawmakers Jang Je-won and Kwon Young-se, who are classified as influential ruling party members and are being mentioned as candidates for Prime Minister and Chief of Staff.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Lee then sequentially mentioned issues such as the people's livelihood economy and the medical crisis, urging changes from the government and ruling party. He emphasized, "The people are suffering severely from the triple hardships of high inflation, high interest rates, and high exchange rates, and now an unexpected complication has arisen with the escalating Israel-Iran conflict," adding, "National-level measures are absolutely necessary. The President, government, and ruling party must focus all their administrative energy solely on the people's livelihood." Regarding legislative conflicts, he said, "The government must abandon its obsession with specific numbers and engage in dialogue," and urged "a magnanimous decision to urgently resolve the medical crisis."

Floor leader Hong Ik-pyo stated, "We will do our best to handle various legislative tasks related to the people's livelihood," and added, "In particular, the Marine Corps Cha Sang-byeong bill was automatically referred to the plenary session on the 4th as a fast-track agenda, and we promise to process it after the general election." He continued, "In addition, there are pressing livelihood issues such as the special law on jeonse fraud, the special prosecutor law for Lee Jong-seop, and the special law on the Itaewon disaster, which the President vetoed, that cannot be delayed," and added, "We will do our utmost until the end to process the livelihood bills pending in the standing committees."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 15th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Democratic Party plans to push through the special prosecutor law concerning allegations of external pressure on the investigation into the Marine Corps personnel death incident at the plenary session scheduled for the 2nd of next month. On that day, 116 Democratic Party lawmakers held a press conference at the National Assembly Communication Office, stating, "Whether the Cha Sang-byeong special prosecutor law passes in the plenary session will be the standard for judging whether the 21st National Assembly was a parliament that fulfilled its duties or not," and appealed, "We ask the People Power Party to participate so that the 21st National Assembly does not end in disgrace."

A changed atmosphere is also being sensed within the ruling party, which had clearly drawn a line against the Democratic Party's forceful handling of the special prosecutor law and others. The 'presidential responsibility theory' following the election defeat has surfaced. On the 12th, People Power Party lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo expressed on the radio that he "personally supports" the Marine Corps special prosecutor law and plans to vote in favor. Newly elected lawmaker Kim Jae-seop, born in 1987, also pointed out regarding the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor law, "Various issues concerning Mrs. Kim have hindered state affairs management, and the public is questioning and requesting resolution."

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