The Democratic Party Effectively Adopts Party Line to Approve Arrest Consent Bill
Majority Opinion Calls for Showing a Different Stance from the Democratic Party
The People Power Party is placing significant weight on passing the arrest consent motion for its member, Representative Ha Young-je. The motion concerns Ha, who was subject to an arrest warrant request on charges including accepting money in exchange for nominations during last year's June 1 local elections (violation of the Political Funds Act), and aims to pressure Lee Jae-myung, the leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who exercised his 'immunity from arrest.' This move appears to be an effort to challenge Lee.
Jang Dong-hyuk, the floor spokesperson for the People Power Party, appeared on SBS Radio's 'Kim Tae-hyun's Political Show' on the morning of the 22nd and stated, "We (People Power Party) consider the waiver of immunity from arrest as essentially the party line and will proceed to vote accordingly." This follows the remarks made the previous day by Floor Leader Joo Ho-young at the National Assembly, where he told reporters, "Each member will make autonomous decisions as constitutional institutions, but since we have repeatedly stated that we would waive immunity from arrest, I expect a decision along those lines."
Within the party, the prevailing sentiment is that 'principles' must be upheld. A first-term member of the People Power Party explained, "Since we have agreed to relinquish immunity from arrest, passing the motion is the principled stance," adding, "However, because he is a fellow member, we have not set passing the arrest consent motion as the official party stance." Another first-term member said, "We have repeatedly urged the Democratic Party to give up immunity from arrest, so if we now protect our own party member, it would be nothing but hypocrisy," and warned, "This could backfire on the party."
This is interpreted as a strategy to pressure Lee by taking a different path from the Democratic Party. Since the prosecution plans to indict Lee without detention regarding the preferential treatment allegations related to the Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town development projects, the People Power Party can differentiate itself during the handling of Ha's arrest consent motion and use it as an offensive tool against the opposition. A senior party member said, "We will show a stance opposite to that of the Democratic Party," adding, "If we want Lee to give up his immunity from arrest and face investigation, we must lead by example." Floor spokesperson Jang also emphasized, "The public is closely watching how the Democratic Party, which has twice rejected arrest consent motions for Representative Roh Woong-rae and Lee, will view this case and vote on it."
Because of this, there is also speculation that the Democratic Party might reject the arrest consent motion for Representative Ha. Um Kyung-young, director of the Era Spirit Research Institute, analyzed, "The Democratic Party faces a dilemma where neither passing nor rejecting the motion is easy, but they will likely lean toward rejection," adding, "Allowing Roh, Lee, and Ha to exercise immunity from arrest and dragging the situation into a mudslinging fight is preferable. If the motion passes here, it would be tantamount to admitting 'Lee Jae-myung's shield.'"
Representative Ha is accused of receiving 70 million won from a prospective candidate during the June 1 local elections last year in exchange for helping with the nomination for the Gyeongnam Provincial Council election. The arrest consent motion for Ha is expected to be reported to the National Assembly plenary session on the 23rd and voted on the 30th.
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