Park Hong-geun "Almost No Possibility of Arrest Warrant Request for Representative Lee Jae-myung"

January Extraordinary National Assembly, Rebutting 'Bangtan National Assembly' Criticism
"Urgent Security Measures and Livelihood Legislation Needed"

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Hyun-joo] Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, predicted that Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader who was investigated by the prosecution as a suspect in the Seongnam FC sponsorship fund allegations, "has no risk of fleeing or destroying evidence. The possibility of requesting an arrest warrant is almost none."

On the 11th, Park appeared on KBS Radio's 'Choi Kyung-young's Strongest Current Affairs' and said, "Yesterday, Lee appeared before the prosecution, but what does Lee's judicial issue have to do with the National Assembly's work?" He added, "Rather, because the government is in a difficult situation due to issues like unmanned aerial vehicles, they want to close the National Assembly door to avoid this."

This was a rebuttal to the ruling party's so-called 'bulletproof National Assembly' claim by the People Power Party, which argued that the Democratic Party's January extraordinary session was held to reject the arrest motion against Lee.

Park said, "They want to cover up the government's incompetence and mistakes regarding the North Korean unmanned aerial vehicle issue by calling it a bulletproof National Assembly, and they seem to be eagerly awaiting the political situation to unfold that way." He criticized, "They talk about people's livelihood and security in words, but want to close the National Assembly doors, which is incomprehensible."

He also claimed that the People Power Party is launching an offensive against the Democratic Party with two strategies. Park emphasized, "One is a strategy to highlight the Democratic Party's judicial issues centered on Lee, causing division; the other is a strategy where the large opposition party with many seats constantly obstructs. They are solely focused on preparing for the next general election with this frame."

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 10th.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

Regarding security issues, Park said, "We are heading toward a crisis more than ever," and emphasized, "There is a provision in the National Assembly Act that allows urgent questions in the plenary session. We need to summon ministers from various departments and urge countermeasures."

He continued, "Regarding livelihood issues, there are several pieces of legislation related to people's livelihood, such as the safety freight system, that were not completed by the end of the year. If only the Judiciary Committee opens and processes them, the plenary session can be convened immediately to pass them, but since the People Power Party controls the Judiciary Committee and is negative about convening the plenary session, work is not progressing," expressing concern.

Regarding the formation of a task force (TF) team on the stock manipulation allegations involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee and Deutsche Motors, he explained, "We are operating an internal task force to closely examine the trial process of the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case, secure related materials, and prepare responses accordingly."

In response to a question about the major electoral district system proposed by President Yoon Suk-yeol, he replied, "The president said he did not consult with the ruling party on that issue. It does not seem like a deeply considered statement." Park added, "The majority of the people have the opinion that political reform, especially the restructuring of the power structure centered on the presidential system, is necessary. Since the Political Reform Special Committee is currently formed in the National Assembly, we plan to set our internal position according to the flow and pace of discussions."