Park Yong-jin "Impatience over Complete Prosecution Reform Worrisome... If Rules Collapse, It Will Become Chaos"

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Joo-yeon] On the 21st, Park Yong-jin, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Min Hyung-bae's withdrawal from the party to pass the "Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights" (Geomsu Wanbak) bill, calling it "a trick, not a clever move."

On the same day, Park said through his Facebook, "Our current impatience toward Geomsu Wanbak is very worrisome."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

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He commented on the Democratic Party's attempt to quickly pass the Geomsu Wanbak bill by having Min participate as an independent member in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's agenda adjustment subcommittee, which is allocated to non-negotiating groups, saying, "At first, they tried to bring in the Justice Party but failed, then replaced Yang Hyang-ja but failed again, and now they are trying to pass the agenda adjustment stage by having Min Hyung-bae leave the party," adding, "Even citizens who support Geomsu Wanbak say this is not right."

He continued, "The situational logic and extraordinary decision for Geomsu Wanbak, in my view, is another case of losing much by trying to gain little, abandoning principles."

Park criticized, "There were unavoidable situations with situational logic such as personnel double standards, satellite parties, and forced amendments to party rules for by-election candidacies, but as a result, we lost the presidential election. Isn't the lesson we learned after losing power for the first time in five years that losing much by trying to gain little without public consensus is self-defeating?"

Using a 'soccer game' as an example, he said, "Soccer moves and entertains humanity with just a few simple rules. If the rules collapse, it becomes chaos." He added, "Of course, bed soccer is possible, but fans are shocked by it. Politics is the same; it must not cross the line to inspire the people," pointing out, "The public sees that the Democratic Party is crossing the line right now."

Park emphasized, "Two years ago, when the bill adjusting investigative rights between the police and prosecution, which was also a campaign pledge of President Moon Jae-in, passed, I voted in favor. I fundamentally agree with the necessity of prosecutorial reform and the separation of investigative and prosecutorial rights," but he also warned, "The basic premise of the Moon administration's prosecutorial reform achievements was 'public consensus.'" He added, "For the success of prosecutorial reform, we must find another path."

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