"An Immunity from Arrest That No Citizen Possesses"
"They Are Fully Aware That They Will Definitely Be Detained"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, who is on the 21st day of his hunger strike, requested the rejection of the arrest consent bill through social media one day before the vote. Former lawmaker Oh Shin-hwan viewed this critically, saying, "How can he write such a lengthy post on the 21st day of a hunger strike?"
On the 20th, Oh appeared on YTN's "The News" and said, "How can the party leader, who is on the 21st day of a hunger strike that makes conversation impossible, write such a long post appealing to the Democratic Party lawmakers?" This implies that after a long hunger strike, consciousness becomes blurred and proper conversation is difficult, so writing a focused long post suggests he might not be conducting the hunger strike properly.
Oh said, "Why is he appealing to the lawmakers of his own party here, holding an immunity from arrest that no other citizen has? He is being detained under the political prosecution frame, but hasn't he been delaying the judicial procedures and investigations by the prosecution all along?"
He added, "If he had voluntarily gone and cooperated well with the investigation, the timing could have been adjusted. However, the prosecution also had unavoidable circumstances, and whether it is during a session or recess, if he had the intention, he could have confidently gone to the warrant hearing."
Oh analyzed that Lee's request for the rejection of the arrest consent bill stems from fear of detention. He said, "It seems he recognizes that if he is forced to undergo a detention warrant hearing, which he hates more than death, he will inevitably be detained." He added, "Therefore, by doing things like this, even by hunger striking, he aims to prolong the time from the 21st day to the 30th or 40th day, creating a situation where he can no longer avoid enjoying immunity from arrest."
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