Joo Ho-young: "The ruling party, to avoid the worst from threats... will recommend the Public Corruption Investigation Office chief recommendation committee tomorrow"

"Already Disparaging Opposition Recommendation Committee Members... Will Oppose If They Are Biased Appointees"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Chun-han] On the 26th, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party, said regarding the candidate recommendation committee for the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Agency (HCIA) chief, "The Democratic Party of Korea is submitting a bill and making what can only be described as threats to forcibly take away even the two recommendation committee seats allotted to the opposition party. We intend to avoid the worst-case scenario by recommending committee members," adding, "We will recommend committee members by tomorrow morning."

At the emergency countermeasure meeting held at the National Assembly that day, Floor Leader Joo said, "We have consistently maintained that the HCIA Act violates legal procedures by not adhering to the fast-track period, and that there are many unconstitutional aspects in its content, so we proposed waiting for the Constitutional Court's ruling on unconstitutionality," and added, "During the process of finding recommendation committee members, many legal professionals said they could not participate because the law itself is unconstitutional."

Floor Leader Joo stated, "There are already disparaging remarks and distractions about those whose names are being floated as (opposition) recommendation committee members," and said, "If the Democratic Party recommends candidates who are neutral, independent, and trusted by the opposition and the public, we will agree. However, if they push through appointments like Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae or former Minister of Justice Cho Kuk, whom the public criticizes as biased and unqualified, we will firmly oppose."

Regarding his meeting with Choi Jae-sung, Senior Secretary for Political Affairs at the Blue House, Floor Leader Joo said, "I had prepared ten questions related to current political issues, so I conveyed those matters," and added, "This time, I asked about the shutdown of Wolseong Unit 1, the issue with Minister Choo Mi-ae, the Lime and Optimus special investigations, the situation where the red line for preventing North Korean nuclear proliferation has been crossed, parachute appointments, and the problem of not listening to the opposition's voice. This time, I hope the president will respond to the questions from the public and the opposition by whatever means necessary."