The arrest motion against Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, was rejected. However, it was not an 'overwhelming rejection.' With only 138 votes against, the Democratic Party, which had emphasized a 'unified front' and expected more than 170 opposing votes, found itself in an awkward position. There is also a possibility that Lee's leadership could be shaken. The ruling party raised their voices, calling it a "political death sentence" for Lee.
On the 27th, at the National Assembly, the vote on the arrest motion for Lee resulted in 139 votes in favor, 138 against, 9 abstentions, and 11 invalid votes out of 297 members present, leading to the motion's rejection. The arrest motion requires a majority of the total members present and a majority of those present to pass, but the affirmative votes did not exceed the majority. During the vote, there was a brief delay due to controversy over 2 invalid votes, but Speaker Kim Jin-pyo proposed, "Let's exclude the problematic votes and first confirm the approval or disapproval," leading to the final result.
Although the arrest motion was narrowly rejected, the Democratic Party cannot simply celebrate. The 138 opposing votes are significantly fewer than the 161 votes against recorded during the rejection of No Woong-rae, and about 37 to 38 votes defected from the initially expected 175 to 176 opposing votes. The Democratic Party has 169 members, but including the Basic Income Party and independent lawmakers affiliated with the Democratic Party, it was initially expected that 175 to 176 opposing votes could be secured. This can be seen as a sign that the unified front within the party is weakening. Lee's efforts to meet with dissident members one by one before the vote to prevent defections proved ineffective.
Before the vote, pro-Lee factions confidently predicted 'more than 170' opposing votes. Democratic Party lawmaker Park Joo-min said on CBS's "Kim Hyun-jung's News Show" that "I think there will be more than 170 opposing votes; I hardly see anyone who would vote in favor," and Democratic Party spokesperson Kim Eui-gyeom also expressed confidence on BBS's "Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal," saying "(There is) absolutely no possibility of invalid or abstention votes." However, contrary to expectations, fewer than 140 opposing votes emerged, suggesting significant aftershocks.
Ruling party lawmakers, who expected about 10 defections, interpreted the larger number of defectors as a "political death sentence" for Lee. People Power Party lawmaker Park Soo-young posted on his social media immediately after the vote results were announced, along with a smiling emoji, "A whopping 37 defections," and said, "It is no different from ordinary citizens delivering a political death sentence to Lee Jae-myung."
People Power Party lawmaker Lee Cheol-kyu also wrote on social media, "It seems the Democratic Party's shield was successful, but 37 Democratic Party lawmakers did not join the shield," emphasizing, "The suspect Lee Jae-myung has effectively received a political death sentence." Fellow party member Hwang Bo-seung-hee said, "Although the motion was rejected as it did not surpass the majority of 149, 139 is a very meaningful number." Lawmaker Kim Woong wrote on social media, "The Democratic Party, entangled in the golden chains of Lee Jae-myung, falls into an abyss protecting crime; yet Lee, the zombie leader, is neither alive nor dead," tagging it with #Rejected_but_politically_dead.
Meanwhile, Minister Han Dong-hoon spent about 15 minutes, three times longer than during the No Woong-rae case, requesting the arrest motion just before the vote?the longest in history. Minister Han explained the Daejang-dong preferential treatment allegations by saying, "It is like a salesperson secretly selling a 1 million won phone to an acquaintance for 100,000 won," and described it as "a crime that caused astronomical damage to the citizens of Seongnam by deliberately selling development rights, which are assets of Seongnam citizens, at a 'rock-bottom price' to the Kim Man-bae group who had prearranged the deal." He likened the salesperson to Lee and the 'acquaintance' to the Kim Man-bae group.
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