Lee Jun-seok: "Partial Inspection Ban is a Planned Show... Will Become Complete Jimin-ban"

Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, is attending the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 4th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

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[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Hyun-ji] Lee Jun-seok, leader of the People Power Party, directly criticized the Democratic Party's push for ‘Geomsu Wanbak (complete removal of the prosecution's investigative authority)’ as “close to a planned show.” He also announced a countermeasure called ‘Jimin Wanbak (complete destruction of the Democratic Party in local elections)’ against the Democratic Party's ‘public opinion war’ on Geomsu Wanbak.

On the 13th, Lee appeared on KBS Radio and commented on the Democratic Party's adoption of the party line to pass Geomsu Wanbak in the National Assembly within April, saying, “Even if investigative capabilities are smoothly transferred without gaps, it is important to do it smoothly, but they say they will bring it up at the last Cabinet meeting of the Moon Jae-in administration.” He criticized, “Doing it hastily like roasting beans over a lightning fire, the Democratic Party has never benefited from this, nor will they.” He further downplayed it by saying, “They lost in the presidential election but want to show off their power in front of the people.”

Regarding the claim that investigative and prosecutorial powers should be separated considering the political nature of the prosecution, he rebutted, “One of the organizations created with that idea was the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO),” adding, “After the CIO started operating, it did not achieve results. These are structural contradictions created by the Democratic Party.”

Lee also said that if the Geomsu Wanbak bill is submitted to the plenary session, he would encourage party members to filibuster. He said, “I am not in the National Assembly, so I will only cheer from outside, but if I were, I would have filibustered for about 100 hours,” adding, “The Democratic Party will find it difficult to answer the criticism that the purpose of Geomsu Wanbak is ultimately to avoid investigations into major corruption cases.”

He also expressed his intention to counter the Democratic Party's public opinion war. He said, “It's not that I can't engage in a public opinion war, but I was waiting because I thought the Democratic Party wouldn't dare to adopt this (Geomsu Wanbak as a party line),” adding, “Since yesterday, when the Democratic Party made the decision, I have been talking about Jimin Wanbak. If this happens, the Democratic Party will really be destroyed in the local elections.”

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