Meeting with Victims of State Violence on the 26th Ahead of Prosecutor Summons
"State Violence Crimes Violating Human Rights with Public Funds
Continue to Occur Without End"
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 26th, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, met with victims of fabricated espionage cases and other incidents, criticizing them as "human rights violation crimes caused by state violence." Although the meeting was hosted by the party's Human Rights Committee, Lee's message condemning "state violence" carried more weight than ever, given that it came just two days before his summons by the prosecution.
Lee drew attention by describing state violence as "continuously occurring," expressing it as an ongoing issue rather than a thing of the past. Although the event was for victims of state violence, attendees instead gave Lee encouraging applause.
On that morning, Lee attended the "State Violence Victims Meeting" held at the National Assembly and said, "It is self-contradictory for the state to use the power entrusted to it for violent crimes or to shield such violent crimes," adding, "It is time to stop giving institutional immunity to state violence." He urged the passage of a bill that would abolish the statute of limitations on state violence crimes. Previously, in November last year, the Democratic Party had proposed the "Special Act on the Statute of Limitations for Anti-Human Rights State Crimes" under the names of all its members.
Lee emphasized, "The Democratic Party believes that institutional measures are necessary to ensure that state violence crimes never happen again," and added, "The way to do this is to clearly establish that 'there is no statute of limitations for state violence crimes,' and 'no matter how much time passes, compensation for state violence crimes has no statute of limitations or expiration period.'"
He continued, "There is a bill submitted to the National Assembly that excludes various statutes of limitations for state violence crimes, but the government and ruling party seem largely uninterested," adding, "Efforts to protect human rights and prevent mass killings and violations must achieve results as quickly and promptly as possible."
On this day, Lee cited representative cases of state violence such as the May 18 Gwangju Democratization Movement, the Jeju 4.3 Incident, and the Yeosu-Suncheon Incident, but drew attention by describing state violence as a "currently ongoing" issue, saying, "In a democratic republic where the people are the owners of the country, state violence crimes that infringe on the human rights of the people using the authority entrusted by the people and the taxes paid by the people continue to occur without end."
With Lee's summons by the prosecution scheduled for the 28th, the ruling party has been strongly criticizing the prosecution under the Yoon administration as conducting "political investigations against the main opposition party" and "oppression of the opposition," giving Lee's every word a weight unlike before.
At the event, there were encouraging applause for Lee, who faces prosecution, as well as voices criticizing the prosecution. Hwang Dae-kwon, a victim of the "Gumi Overseas Student Espionage Fabrication Case," said, "The unlimited power of prosecutors who tighten the law around people must be abolished or reduced," adding, "Democratic Party lawmakers are currently being targeted by the prosecution's blade, and the Democratic Party must definitely resolve this."
After Lee's greeting, Joo Cheol-hyun, chairman of the party's Human Rights Committee, said, "Despite the unprecedented opposition oppression by the ruthless Yoon Seok-youl administration, Lee is standing firm and attending today's event to express a resolute will regarding state violence victims," encouraging attendees to give applause.
A Democratic Party official stated, "This schedule was planned regardless of the prosecution summons," drawing a line against attributing special meaning to the timing of Lee's appearance in relation to the prosecution. However, the official added, "It points out cases of harm caused by unjust state power and aims to prevent such harm to the people through future legislation," and said, "Since the prosecution summons is imminent, it may be interpreted from various perspectives."
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