'Geomsuwanbak' Following the Path of Forced Passage of the Media Arbitration Act

Democratic Party Facing Opposition Shift
Strong Prospects for Forcing Bill Passage

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Jun-yi] The Democratic Party of Korea is facing criticism that it will follow the same path as last year's forced passage of the ‘Media Arbitration Act’ while pushing for the ‘Complete Removal of Prosecutorial Investigation Rights (Geomsu Wanbak)’. There is a possibility that they might take a step back while monitoring public opinion trends. However, as they are on the verge of becoming the opposition party rather than the ruling party, expectations are growing that they will push the bill through forcefully.

On the 18th, a People Power Party official said about Geomsu Wanbak, "Public opinion is split evenly, but it is receiving strong support among the Democratic Party’s base." He added, "The Democratic Party is now the opposition. The opposition prioritizes its own supporters over the overall national approval rating, so it is expected to push the bill through even more aggressively." Last year, the Democratic Party pushed the Media Arbitration Act by passing the bill unilaterally in standing committees such as the Culture, Sports and Tourism Committee and the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but faced criticism from domestic and international public opinion and temporarily withdrew the bill from legislative consideration. This time, as the opposition party, it is more likely to respond to the demands of its supporters rather than public opinion.

The Democratic Party holds the position that no further public opinion gathering is necessary. Hwang Unha, a Democratic Party lawmaker who has led adjustments to the investigative rights of the prosecution and police, said in a phone interview with this paper, "Even if we go through public hearings or opinion gathering processes, opinions will not converge to one side." He explained, "Experts’ opinions differ. I believe public opinion has already been sufficiently gathered, and only legislative decisions remain." Lee Sujin, a Democratic Party lawmaker from the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, also rebutted in a phone interview, "The separation of prosecutorial investigative and prosecutorial rights has been discussed since the Roh Moo-hyun administration, and since 2020, we (the Democratic Party) have held special committees on prosecutorial reform to discuss this. It is not a sudden issue."

However, with the local elections on June 1 approaching, if they become trapped in the ‘legislative force’ frame, it could have negative effects. The prosecution has also targeted the Democratic Party for failing to gain sufficient social consensus.

Public opinion still shows more voices of concern. In a public opinion poll conducted by Realmeter on the 13th at the request of Energy Economy Newspaper, 52.1% opposed Geomsu Wanbak, while 38.2% expressed support, showing a gap beyond the margin of error. (Survey of 1,017 men and women aged 18 and over, 95% confidence level, ±3.1 percentage points margin of error, 90% mobile and 10% landline automated response survey)