Democrats "Will Definitely Pass Special Prosecutor Bill for Chae Sang-byeong on the 6th Plenary Session Fast Track"

The Democratic Party of Korea announced on the 4th that it will definitely process the consent motion for the special prosecutor law, which is designated as a fast-track bill regarding the investigation interference allegations in the death case of Marine Corps Corporal Chae, at the National Assembly plenary session on the 6th.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the same day, Hong Ik-pyo, the floor leader, said at a party meeting held at the National Assembly in the afternoon, "We intend to definitely process the consent motion for the special prosecutor fast-track designation related to the sacrifice of Marine Corps soldiers on the 6th." He emphasized, "To process the fast-track consent motion, agreement from 179 seats out of the total is required. We have already confirmed support exceeding 179 seats, but we will check again by the 6th to ensure it can be processed without any issues."

Yoon Young-duk, the party spokesperson, told reporters after the meeting, "Among the bills to be processed on the 6th, the key agenda is the consent motion for the designation of the special prosecutor law as a fast-track bill related to the Marine Corps death case." He added, "All opposition party members and independent members will participate in the vote to ensure the agenda is processed smoothly."

During the meeting, the party also discussed whether to adopt a party stance on the vote for the appointment consent of Supreme Court Chief Justice nominee Lee Gyun-yong.

Spokesperson Yoon said, "Park Yong-jin, the opposition party whip of the special personnel hearing committee for nominee Lee, stated, 'It is time for the National Assembly to firmly do what it must. Although there are concerns about a vacancy in the head of the judiciary, the Yoon Seok-yeol administration is responsible for requesting the National Assembly to consent to appoint a person lacking qualifications and with moral issues.'" He added, "All members of the Democratic Party's personnel hearing committee agreed that he is a 'very inappropriate candidate.'" He further explained, "Most members favor a party-line vote, while a minority prefer a free vote. The decision on whether to adopt a party stance will be made at the party meeting just before the plenary session on the 6th."

During the open discussion, remarks were made regarding a broadcast report that former floor leader Park Kwang-on requested party leader Lee Jae-myung to step down to a secondary position on the day the arrest consent motion for Lee was voted on.

Spokesperson Yoon stated, "Multiple members confirmed that the claim that former floor leader Park requested party leader Lee to step down during a meeting on the 21st of last month is not true."

Meanwhile, the meeting proceeded with the approval process for the new floor leader team. Earlier, Floor Leader Hong appointed Park Joo-min as the chief deputy floor leader for floor operations and Yoo Dong-su as the chief deputy floor leader for floor policy.