"There are also people who said it helped their judgment"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, sent a message to lawmakers the day before the vote on the arrest consent bill, effectively requesting its rejection. In response to some opinions suggesting this was an admission of a 'shielding hunger strike,' Kim Min-seok, chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee, refuted the claim, saying it was "not true."
On the 21st, Kim, on CBS's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show,' stated, "It is not accurate to say that the ruling party or the prosecution is interpreting Lee's recent stance as an attempt to use the entire hunger strike as a shield against the arrest consent bill."
This can be interpreted as a request not to link the arrest consent bill issue with the hunger strike. He said, "The arrest consent bill issue is one thing, and the overall demand for government reform, which triggered the hunger strike, is another. They are separate matters."
He also pointed out that the problem was that the prosecution did not request a warrant during the recess period when an arrest consent bill was not necessary. The Policy Committee chairman said, "We said, 'Create a recess period, and during that time, request the warrant. Then I will go and undergo the warrant's substantive examination.' And we actually did that," adding, "So we did that, but the prosecution did not respond to that opportunity."
When asked by the host whether Lee, who is bedridden, could come to the National Assembly in a wheelchair for personal remarks before the vote on the arrest consent bill, Kim said, "He is currently in the hospital, so I am not sure if it is possible for him to attend in a wheelchair," adding, "The hunger strike has now exceeded 20 days, and he continues the hunger strike even in bed. Usually, after about 7 or 8 days, it becomes almost impossible to move."
Within the non-mainstream faction, there are opinions that "it is burdensome if the leader on a hunger strike steps forward and requests the rejection like this." Regarding this, Kim responded, "Some say that the leader expressing his position on the arrest consent bill issue actually helped in making a judgment."
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