Park Chandae: "Even if a yes vote is cast, it won't affect nominations... The party atmosphere is against approval"

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, requested the rejection of the arrest consent bill the day before the vote, raising the possibility of disadvantages in party nominations for lawmakers who cast approval votes. However, Park Chan-dae, a pro-Lee (친명) Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, said that casting an approval vote would not affect nominations.

On the 21st, on MBC's 'Kim Jong-bae's Focus,' Park responded "Yes" to the host's question, "Does an approval vote directly or indirectly affect nominations or anything like that?"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The day before, Lee posted on his social media (SNS), "The approval of this clearly illegal and unjust arrest consent bill will give wings to the political prosecution's fabricated investigation," urging its rejection.

Casting a favorable vote is seen as a denial of Lee's request, leading to speculation that those lawmakers might be identified and penalized. However, Park said, "Since that person did not commit any illegal or criminal acts, it would be difficult to single them out and impose any disadvantages," adding, "Isn't embracing and moving forward together the essence of politics?"

Park also said he opposed Lee issuing a 'rejection request' statement. He said, "I thought it might be better not to issue a statement," adding, "I was not strongly opposed. I think the leader knows why he is on a hunger strike and what we are thinking, so he probably thought it better to clarify his position to avoid unnecessary controversy."

When asked by the host if issuing the statement indicated anxiety about the approval of the arrest consent bill, Park said, "I'm not sure if 'anxiety' is the right word, but as you saw last time, there were about 40 dissenting votes," adding, "There is a possibility of such issues arising even with approval by fewer than 30 lawmakers, but calling it anxiety seems inappropriate."

He also said the party atmosphere is leaning toward 'rejection of the arrest consent bill.' Park said, "The overall atmosphere now seems to be that the arrest consent bill should be rejected," adding, "At yesterday's party meeting, an overwhelming majority demanded rejection, and many opinions favored rejecting it as the party stance."