'Geomsuwanbak' Democratic Party: "People Power Party broke the agreement... Will definitely pass it in the plenary session"

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the Emergency Measures Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 27th and delivering opening remarks. Photo by Yoon Dong-joo doso7@

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[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Democratic Party of Korea pointed out that the People Power Party is claiming that the agreement was broken during the process of passing the so-called 'complete removal of prosecution investigation rights' (검수완박) bill. At the same time, they reaffirmed their determination to pass the bill at the plenary session scheduled for the day.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the National Assembly Emergency Committee meeting on the 27th, "We can no longer be swayed by the People Power Party and President-elect Yoon Seok-yeol, who try to completely ignore bipartisan agreements and the National Assembly's advanced law if it benefits them." He added, "We will open the plenary session today and definitely pass the bill."

He said, "It is outrageous that just before the agenda adjustment committee, they secretly met with the floor judiciary committee secretaries to review each article and reach an agreement, but then physically blocked the implementation of the agreed matters. This is a truly hypocritical public office show."

He also stated, "The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Department is already identifying members of the National Assembly and is responsible for investigating major public officials of grade 3 or higher, while the police handle the rest. Election crimes can also have a grace period even after the bill passes, but the 3+3 proposal to implement it within 1 year and 6 months through the election crime supplementary provisions was rejected, so we accepted the Justice Party's proposal to revise it to last until the end of December."

He continued, "The People Power Party even refused consecutive concessions. The intention of President-elect Yoon and the People Power Party is that if the confrontation in the National Assembly continues due to the broken agreement, it will be advantageous to them. They expect the personnel hearings to be buried and to gain an advantage in the local elections," he criticized.

On the same day, Park Ju-min, the Democratic Party's secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, raised his voice, saying, "People Power Party members of the judiciary committee claimed that the agreement was not properly reflected and that they tried to legislate content exceeding the agreement. They even tried to ignore the very purpose of the agreement itself. The breaking of the agreement was clearly done by People Power Party members."

He explained that the Democratic Party passed the bill based on the spirit of the agreement at the agenda adjustment committee the day before. Park said, "The first clause of the agreement is the most important, stating that the prosecution's direct investigation rights are temporary and that even in cases of direct investigation, investigation and prosecution rights are separated. Clause 4 clearly states that even if various prosecutors can investigate, it is only possible within the scope that does not harm the unity and identity of the case." He added, "We created legal provisions faithful to this spirit, but the People Power Party keeps asking why prosecutors are not allowed to investigate."

He also emphasized, "The People Power Party should return to the spirit of the agreement and actively cooperate for the passage at the plenary session."

Meanwhile, at 2 p.m. on the same day, National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok and the floor leaders of both parties are scheduled to meet to discuss whether to convene the plenary session.

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