Lee Won-wook "Lee Jae-myung's post is absurd... Who would trust him now besides Gaeddal?"

"The Arrest Consent Bill Itself Must Have Been Frightening"

As the vote on the arrest consent bill for Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is underway in the National Assembly on the 21st, Lee Won-wook, a non-Myeong faction lawmaker, expressed his feelings, calling Lee's message requesting the rejection of the arrest consent bill via social media the previous day "absurd and embarrassing."

On the 21st, Lee said on BBS's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "Now, I wonder how many people can trust Leader Lee's words besides his staunch supporters like Gaeddal," expressing his thoughts.

Lee Won-wook, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, is questioning and debating at the plenary committee meeting for the review of the resolution on the improvement of the parliamentary election system during the 4th session of the 405th National Assembly (extraordinary session) held at the National Assembly on the 13th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

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

However, Lee Won-wook said, "A politician's words are like law," and expressed concern, "When the leader of the main opposition party breaks his promise like that, without any prior procedure or apology, wouldn't it only lead to a decline in trust toward the party?"

Regarding why Leader Lee changed his stance after advocating for 'waiving immunity from arrest' until June, he pointed out, "Isn't it because he was afraid of the arrest consent bill itself? If the prosecution's warrant request contents are fabricated, he should confidently go out and receive the court's judgment. Judges wouldn't fabricate either, would they? So, I logically cannot understand why he is so afraid."

He added, "There is a vote today, and the only people I can trust regarding that are the staunch fandom like Gaeddal. I think the message is something like, 'I won't go anymore, so find the lawmakers expected to vote for approval and intimidate them.'"

According to vote count analysis, if the People Power Party votes 100% in favor, the bill will pass if more than 28 members of the Democratic Party vote in favor. Lee said, "There was a vote on the arrest consent bill in February. According to predictions at that time, about 18 voted for approval, and about 20 cast invalid or abstention votes. So, although the people may change, I think about the same number, around 18, will vote for approval this time as well." This means there are about 20 definite approval votes within the Democratic Party.

The change of heart among those who abstained in February will determine the final outcome. Lee explained, "It is difficult to predict how the abstaining lawmakers' votes will change now," saying they are struggling between party division and the image of a shield party.

He also said that the explanation for the arrest consent request by Justice Minister Han Dong-hoon would provoke the Democratic Party. He said, "What Minister Han wants is to solidify the Democratic Party's image as a shield party," and added, "Although it could have been submitted during the non-session period, choosing the session after the regular National Assembly and sending the arrest warrant this time seems to have been a calculated move to solidify the shield party image or to stir conflict within the Democratic Party."