Choo Kyung-ho: "'Meokgosanim' Lee Jae-myung, Democratic Party Pushing Legislation That Destroys Economy"

"Proposed to Increase the Number of Requests for Retrial"
Yellow Envelope Act Could Not Pass Even Under Moon Government
Democratic Party "Will Also Hold Hearings Opposing Yoon's Impeachment"

On the 12th, Choo Kyung-ho, floor leader of the People Power Party, pointed out that while Lee Jae-myung, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced 'meokgosanim' (a term referring to the importance of making a living) when declaring his re-election as party leader, the Democratic Party is actually pushing legislation that harms the economy. Choo criticized that the reason the Democratic Party is forcing legislation is to increase the number of presidential requests for reconsideration.

At the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Choo said, "Among the seven bills adopted as party policy by the Democratic Party yesterday (the 11th), the amendment to the Labor Union and Labor Relations Adjustment Act, namely the Yellow Envelope Act, is a bill that restricts companies' right to claim damages for losses caused by illegal strikes," adding, "It is a bill that virtually blocks claims for damages due to illegal strikes."

People Power Party Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho is answering reporters' questions at the National Assembly on the 12th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The Democratic Party held a policy members' meeting the previous afternoon and adopted seven bills as party policy, including the Yellow Envelope Act, the amendment to the Board of Audit and Inspection Act, and the Special Act to Support Victims of Jeonse Fraud.

Regarding the Yellow Envelope Act, Choo said, "Restricting claims for damages clearly infringes on constitutional property rights and is highly likely to be unconstitutional, and there are no cases found in advanced countries," explaining, "The Yellow Envelope Act was a national agenda of the Moon Jae-in administration, but despite holding an absolute majority of seats, the Democratic Party and the Moon administration gave up on forcibly passing the bill."

He then pointed out that the reason the Democratic Party is pushing the bill is "because they know the president will exercise the right to request reconsideration and want to increase the number of such cases."

Choo also criticized, "They have declared that they will forcibly pass the Grain Management Act, which will cause overproduction of rice and deterioration of the national granary, and the Fake Livelihood Support Fund Act, which will cause serious fiscal deterioration without effect, within this month," adding, "Although Lee Jae-myung grandly said that the issue of making a living is the most important, they are adopting bills as party policy that damage corporate competitiveness and worsen the industrial ecosystem, making the issue of making a living even more difficult."

Former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung and Supreme Council member Jung Cheong-rae are talking at the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 27th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Regarding the push for a presidential impeachment petition hearing, Choo said, "I am worried about the public backlash, but if we don't do it, I worry about the backlash from pro-Lee hardline party members," and added, "Today, a Democratic Party member of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee is said to be going to the Presidential Office to protest and deliver a request for witness attendance at the hearing on the presidential impeachment petition. There is no such outrageous situation."

The People Power Party claimed that the Democratic Party, at the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 9th, unilaterally processed the agenda regarding the 'petition requesting the immediate proposal of the impeachment motion against President Yoon Seok-yeol,' including the hearing plan and witness attendance request, infringing on the rights of the committee members from their party to represent the people and to deliberate and vote on the agenda.

The People Power Party filed a constitutional complaint with the Constitutional Court on behalf of its Legislation and Judiciary Committee members, stating that there are "serious unconstitutional and illegal defects" in the hearing related to the presidential impeachment petition led by the Democratic Party.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party plans to hold a hearing on the petition opposing President Yoon's impeachment. Jeong Cheong-rae, chairman of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee and senior member of the Democratic Party, said at the party's supreme council meeting that "the petition opposing President Yoon's impeachment has also exceeded 50,000 signatures and has been legally submitted to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee like the petition in favor, so it must be reviewed going forward," adding, "A hearing on the petition opposing Yoon Seok-yeol's impeachment should be held fairly as well."

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