Lee Junseok: "People Power Party's Standing Committee Boycott Is Wrong... Should Recommend Less Controversial Candidates"

On Han Ducksoo's Warrant Rejection: "Protection of Right to Defense"
On Prosecution Reform: "Even Lee Would Regret It"

On August 28, Lee Junseok, leader of the Reform New Party, criticized the People Power Party for its complete boycott of the National Assembly schedule in protest of the rejection of its nominee for the National Human Rights Commission, stating, "The claim to boycott all standing committees is not right."

Reform New Party leader Lee Junseok paid a courtesy visit to Speaker Woo Wonsik on the 19th and had a friendly talk in the Speaker's office. Photo by Yonhap News

At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly that morning, Lee said, "Vacating the standing committees is an act of erasing one's own name from the records of history," expressing his stance.

Lee added, "The public wants to see how lawmakers fought within the National Assembly, not empty chairs," and explained, "Although the Reform New Party is a minority party, we will uphold the principle of faithfully participating in legislative activities under any unreasonable political circumstances."

He also said, "The repeated actions by the Democratic Party of Korea to neutralize the opposition's right to recommend appointments based on their number of seats must be condemned," but added, "At the same time, the People Power Party should at least show the minimum sincerity by recommending less controversial candidates."

Addressing Jang Donghyuk, the new leader of the People Power Party, Lee remarked, "The root causes and solutions to the problems the People Power Party has faced over the past years are now well known to everyone," and continued, "I hope that, unlike his predecessors who focused only on appearances and ignored the real solutions, Representative Jang will lead with fundamental reflection and bring about substantive change."

Regarding the court’s denial of the arrest warrant for former Prime Minister Han Ducksoo, requested by the special prosecutor for the insurrection case the previous night, Lee stated, "During the martial law crisis, some cabinet members were weak, some were cowardly, and others actively cooperated," and emphasized, "Distinguishing their respective culpability is complex, and the process must proceed with the fullest protection of their right to defense."

On the government and ruling party’s ongoing efforts for prosecution reform, Lee pointed out, "President Lee Jaemyung, when he was in the opposition, labeled the prosecution as a 'hostile power institution,' but after coming to power, he likely regrets the absence of special investigation functions."

Lee further argued, "Given that even the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials has not yet found its footing after several years, dismantling the prosecution and dividing it into an investigation agency and a prosecution agency cannot be stably established within the president's term," and added, "The differences between the Democratic Party and Minister of Justice Jeong Sungho have emerged for the same reason."

He continued, "Moreover, while the Democratic Party advocates for the separation of investigation and prosecution, it has actually launched three special prosecutors who are responsible for investigation, indictment, and maintaining prosecution," and pointed out, "The Democratic Party's logic is contradicted by its own actions."

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