"Stripping Investigation Rights, Making Prosecution Useless... A Crime That Provokes Outrage"
Government Reorganization Plan, Supplementary Budget for Compensation, and Real Estate Legislation Cited as Three Key Priorities
[Asia Economy Reporter Hyunju Lee] Kwon Seong-dong, the newly appointed floor leader of the People Power Party, strongly opposed the ruling Democratic Party's push for 'Geomsu Wanbak (Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights)' on the 10th, saying, "Isn't this an attempt to completely strip the prosecution's investigative rights to block the criminal acts of former President Moon Jae-in, key figures of the Moon Jae-in administration, and former presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung and his wife (Kim Hye-kyung), who are under various corruption allegations?"
In an interview with Yonhap News Agency on the same day, Floor Leader Kwon called Geomsu Wanbak a "heinous and outrageous crime" and stated, "It is an attempt to render the prosecution useless."
He said, "The biggest reason the Democratic Party failed in the recent Seoul mayoral election and presidential election was the autocratic operation of the National Assembly. They pushed through their agenda like a tank, ignoring the minority opposition and public opinion, based on their absolute majority of 180 seats, which was the main cause of their defeat." He added, "They self-praised a year ago that the adjustment of investigative rights between the police and prosecution and prosecution reform had all been achieved, but now they are again insisting on completely stripping the prosecution's investigative rights and are preparing to neutralize the Judiciary Committee's agenda coordination committee through reassignments." The recent reassignment of independent lawmaker Yang Hyang-ja to the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee by the Democratic Party is seen as a preparatory step to forcibly push through Geomsu Wanbak via the agenda coordination committee of the Judiciary Committee.
Floor Leader Kwon warned, "Will the so-called stripping of prosecutorial investigative rights for specific individuals and groups truly gain the consent of the people? This is nothing but a grandiose lie, so it will never receive public approval or support and will face popular resistance."
He continued, "If the prosecution's investigative rights are stripped, those groups will applaud and welcome it. Many public officials committing crimes and corruption, colluding officials, and businessmen connected with the government will cheer. The Democratic Party's stance to leave such dark connections and vested interest cartels as they are is truly a heinous crime," raising his voice.
However, regarding plans to prevent this, he lamented, "As you have seen over the past two years in the 21st National Assembly, if the Democratic Party pushes through, there is no legal way to stop it. We can only helplessly endure it." He said, "In my judgment, although some in the Democratic Party advocate for Geomsu Wanbak, conscientious and sensible members of the Democratic Party see this as unacceptable," adding, "I sincerely pray that these conscientious and sensible members will oppose it, saying, 'Isn't this too much?' and 'If this goes forward, the Democratic Party will score an own goal.'"
He also said, "I do not want to reach a situation where we have no choice but to expose the unfairness and atrocities to the public," but added, "However, if they betray their conscience and proceed with autocratic operation and parliamentary dictatorship as in the past, we will have no choice but to fight back strongly in consultation with our members."
Meanwhile, Floor Leader Kwon identified the government reorganization plan, additional supplementary budget (supplementary budget) for loss compensation, and real estate legislation as the three key priority tasks.
He said, "If the president, as the head of the executive branch, reorganizes the administration to implement his envisioned national governance philosophy, the legislative branch should respect that to some extent," adding, "It is our duty to pass it through smooth consultation with the Democratic Party." He also emphasized the urgency of passing the supplementary budget for loss compensation, saying, "The president-elect has promised several times, and Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jae-myung has expressed the same intention, so if a reasonable budget plan is prepared, I believe the Democratic Party will agree."
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