Beopse-ryeon: "Clearly Illegal, Constitutes Obstruction of Business"
[Asia Economy, Reporter Jang Sehee] The police have officially launched an investigation into Independent lawmaker Min Hyungbae's decision to leave the Democratic Party of Korea to facilitate the passage of the "Prosecution Reform" bill.
On May 3, the Seocho Police Station in Seoul announced that, starting from 11:00 a.m. that day, they had conducted an interview with Lee Jongbae, the head of the civic group Action for Restoring Rule of Law (Beopse-ryeon), who filed a complaint against Min. Previously, Beopse-ryeon had filed a criminal complaint against Min on April 22, arguing that his departure from the party and subsequent placement on the agenda coordination committee as an opposition member to help pass the bill constituted obstruction of business by deception and by force.
Prior to the interview, Beopse-ryeon held a press conference at Seocho Police Station, stating, "Min Hyungbae maintained his independent status to neutralize the agenda coordination committee and ensure the passage of the Prosecution Reform bill," and added, "This deprived non-negotiating bloc lawmakers of the opportunity to participate in the committee."
The group further stated, "Some argue that Min's departure from the party and his participation in the committee do not constitute a formal violation, but his status as an independent after leaving the party is as illegal as holding a forged passport, and clearly constitutes deception in the context of obstruction of business charges."
Meanwhile, on April 7, the Democratic Party reassigned Independent lawmaker Yang Hyangja, who was previously a member of the Planning and Finance Committee, to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. However, after Yang expressed opposition to the Prosecution Reform bill, the party devised an alternative plan in which Min Hyungbae abruptly left the party.
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