Sangmin Lee: "Even if Gaeddal texts are harsh... Lawmakers will speak their minds more"

Following the vote on the arrest consent bill for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, more than 30 dissenting votes within the party emerged, which was higher than expected. As a result, Lee's staunch supporters known as "Gaeddal" (Daughters of Reform) have been sending protest messages to the lawmakers presumed to have cast these dissenting votes. Lee Sang-min, a lawmaker considered a leading figure of the non-Lee faction within the party, said, "I received fierce messages," but predicted that lawmakers would express their convictions more strongly going forward.

On the 28th, Lee Sang-min stated on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' "There are quite a few messages coming in right now. Not only the number but also the content is quite fierce," he revealed.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The day before, the vote against the arrest consent bill totaled 138 votes. Considering there are 169 Democratic Party lawmakers, this means at least 31 dissenting votes occurred. Taking into account five independent lawmakers affiliated with the Democratic Party and Basic Income Party lawmaker Yong Hye-in also voting against, the number of dissenting votes could be as high as 37.

Regarding the content of the messages from the "Gaeddal," Lee said, "It is somewhat difficult to quote them on air," adding, "Such words should not be exchanged among people with dignity. I feel that basic human courtesy has been seriously breached."

Since these supporters may participate in future party primaries, they pose a threatening presence to lawmakers who voted against the bill. Lee said, "Of course, they feel threatened. Not only in candidate selection but also in their current legislative activities," he said. However, these lawmakers did not vote in favor, abstain, or cast invalid votes without expecting such protests or strong reactions."

He continued, "They likely voted knowing they were being discussed. Therefore, lawmakers will probably express their convictions more strongly and realistically from now on."

Lee also mentioned that many lawmakers who voted against the arrest consent bill are still struggling with their decision. He said, "Among those who voted against, many are troubled and uncomfortable with the fact that the pledge to abolish the arrest immunity, which Lee had promised, is now being overturned," adding, "There are probably more of these than the combined number of those who voted in favor, abstained, or cast invalid votes within the Democratic Party."

Abstentions (9 votes) and invalid votes (11 votes) effectively mean support for the arrest consent bill. Lee said, "Those should be considered as votes in favor," adding, "To resolve this situation, we must view it sternly rather than optimistically. It is not something to be taken lightly as if each lawmaker acted impulsively or coincidentally, or simply ignored the party leadership's persuasion."

This suggests there was an organized movement supporting the bill. He said, "The number of votes is not just a coincidence or a simple sum of individual decisions," adding, "While it might be an overinterpretation to say that one or two people planned and organized the entire movement, I do not think it was merely a collection of individual thoughts."