Park Beom-gye: "If There Is a 30-Vote Disagreement, We Need to Discuss It Openly"

"Need for a Process to Decide Party's Rejection Resolution"

Park Beom-gye, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, raised his voice for the need for open and transparent discussions regarding the occurrence of more than 30 Democratic Party 'defection votes' in the vote on the arrest motion for Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader, held the previous day.

On the 28th, Park said on KBS's "Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current Affairs," "If there is a difference of opinion of more than 30 votes, that difference should now come to the surface and be discussed in a manner befitting the Democratic Party."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is making a personal statement regarding the submission of a motion for his arrest at the plenary session held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 27th. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

As for the vote on the arrest motion for Lee, out of 297 members present, 139 voted in favor, 138 against, 9 abstained, and 11 votes were invalid, resulting in the motion being rejected. However, the number of opposing votes was much lower than the initially expected 170, causing a stir within the Democratic Party. Park also said, "I was surprised," adding, "It seems there were more than 30 defection votes, which is very embarrassing and serious."

He analyzed, "There is no difference in the characterization of the Yoon Seok-yeol administration as a prosecutor dictatorship, a regime neglecting people's livelihoods, and one causing various diplomatic disasters. However, differences arise in specific means and methodologies, such as thoughts on immunity from arrest, considerations on how to win the next general election, election system reforms, and nomination rights. These are intertwined results, not differences in policy lines."

Park said, "Since it has become clear that there are differences of opinion, there should be explanations about the fundamental intent and goals of those differences, and then Lee will deliberate carefully. A process of gathering party consensus is needed first to prevent repeated incidents like salami tactics, splitting votes, or re-submission on rainy days like dusting off dust."

He emphasized the need for a process to establish 'rejection' as the party's official stance. When asked by the host whether he believes the rejection should be decided as the party's official position, he said, "Such discussions are necessary," stressing, "Freedom of will is freedom of will harmonized within the party's official stance; it cannot be freedom of will completely unrelated to the party's official stance."