"No Separate Judgment for Specific Individuals"
Steps to Propose the '5 Billion Club Special Prosecutor Act' Will Be Taken
[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Ju-yeon] On the 16th, Lee Eun-ju, floor leader of the Justice Party, commented on the arrest warrant requested for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, saying, "The Justice Party has always supported the consent for arrest of members of the National Assembly," and "This time is no different."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is deep in thought during an emergency Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 16th. On the same day, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Lee Jae-myung in connection with allegations of preferential treatment in the development of Wirye New Town and Daejang-dong, as well as suspicions regarding donations to Seongnam FC. This is the first time in constitutional history that an arrest warrant has been requested for the leader of the main opposition party. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Floor leader Lee appeared on Yonhap News TV's 'News Number One' in the afternoon and said, "The Justice Party has no need to set a party stance regarding the consent for arrest."
When asked by the host, "Does the Justice Party plan to support the consent for arrest vote on Lee Jae-myung as a party stance?" Lee replied, "Since the 19th National Assembly, the Justice Party has always voted in favor of consent for arrest for any member of the National Assembly accused of corruption or bribery," adding, "So we do not make separate judgments for specific individuals."
Regarding the protest text bombings sent by supporters of Lee, Lee said, "I fully understand the feelings of supporters," and added, "Citizens should be able to express their opinions, and as members of the National Assembly, we must bear that responsibility."
Regarding the push for a special prosecutor investigation into the '50 Billion Club' related to former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, who was acquitted in the first trial despite receiving 5 billion won as retirement pay from his son, Lee requested cooperation from both major parties.
Lee said, "The '50 Billion Club' case is a 'development corruption cartel case' involving collusion between politics and the legal community," and criticized, "Except for former lawmaker Kwak Sang-do, it is unclear whether the rest of the group has even been summoned for investigation. Public opinion is boiling over the prosecution's sloppy investigation."
He also emphasized, "Both ruling and opposition parties agree, and unusually, the Presidential Office recently issued a statement," adding, "Not only public opinion but both parties agree on the prosecution's inadequate investigation. Now, the decision lies with the two parties."
However, the Democratic Party argues that the scope of the '50 Billion Club' special prosecutor investigation should be expanded to include allegations of bad loans at Busan Savings Bank, which President Yoon Seok-youl investigated during his time as a prosecutor. This has led to speculation that the Justice Party and the Democratic Party may have differing views.
Lee explained, "We have drafted a bill so that if illegal acts related to the '50 Billion Club' allegations are revealed during the investigation, all can be investigated," and added, "It is not that the investigation into the Busan Savings Bank bad loans cannot be conducted at all." He further said, "This can be considered an intersection with the Daejang-dong special prosecutor investigation that the Democratic Party is advocating for," and "Therefore, I believe we can fully cooperate with the Democratic Party on this matter."
Addressing the People Power Party, Lee said, "The first lawmaker to disclose the list of the '50 Billion Club' was also a member of the People Power Party," and emphasized, "Since the People Power Party also expressed concerns about the first trial verdict for former lawmaker Kwak, I hope both parties will respond with a special prosecutor investigation that can properly investigate the Daejang-dong 50 Billion Club, which has high public sympathy."
Meanwhile, although the Justice Party planned to propose the '50 Billion Club' special prosecutor law the day before, they failed to meet the minimum requirement of 10 lawmakers for proposal. The Justice Party explained in a notice that "Democratic Party lawmakers Park Yong-jin, Kim Hong-gul, Lee Yong-woo, Lee Yong-seon, Yang Ki-dae, and independent lawmaker Yang Jeong-sook participated as co-proposers."
Having met the required number of lawmakers for the bill proposal, the Justice Party plans to proceed with the formal proposal process in the future.
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