Competition Seems to Have Started Among Speaker Candidates
Differences in Perceptions Also Shown Regarding Daeya Relations
On the 24th, Chu Mi-ae, the elected member of the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) for Hanam-si Gap and a candidate for the next Speaker of the National Assembly, criticized DPK lawmaker Jeong Seong-ho over the issue of making the special prosecution law for First Lady Kim Keon-hee an agenda item at the presidential summit. Jeong, known as the leader of the pro-Myeong faction, had said that making the special prosecution law for Kim an agenda item at the summit was "inappropriate."
In a CBS radio interview that day, Chu did not mention Jeong by name but referred to his remarks related to the summit agenda, calling them "naive." She said, "When (DPK leader) Lee Jae-myung meets the president, the issues of Itaewon tragedy, the death of Marine Corps soldier Chae Sang-byeong, the Yangpyeong-Seoul highway controversy, allegations of Kim Keon-hee’s luxury handbag receipt, and stock manipulation allegations must definitely be raised as agenda items." She added, "The agenda concerning Kim’s stock manipulation is connected to the 'whistleblower prosecution' case," and said, "If you think this case is simply about exposing some shameful secrets, you still have a naive understanding of the case that is the root of the prosecutorial coup."
Chu said, "(The special prosecution for Kim) is connected to the process of nurturing the prosecutorial coup ambitions through the privatization of the current prosecution reform, so this is not just about exposing some secrets," adding, "The perception of 'how can (the party leader) expose these secrets in front of the president' is very naive."
Earlier, Jeong had said in the same interview the previous day, "If we create an opportunity to communicate with trust at the summit, I consider that a success," and added, "Raising the special prosecution issue for Kim as an agenda is inappropriate."
On the other hand, Chu emphasized the seriousness of the case (Kim’s stock manipulation allegations), saying, "If we are dragged along just for the sake of cooperation regarding the prosecutorial coup in this ongoing matter, it is like what happened in the previous administration, where we failed to properly see the privatization of prosecutorial power by the Prosecutor General and the prosecutorial coup came close but was not stopped, causing suffering to the people now." She added, "We must properly maintain our focus."
Chu also stressed an active role for the Speaker and differentiated herself from Jeong. She said, "It is not about mechanical neutrality or cooperation, but about looking at public sentiment, creating alternatives for the people, and pushing them forward," adding, "Leadership that constantly faces reality and makes efforts is needed. Suddenly, it looks like we are going in the right direction, but then we suddenly shift the gear to neutral and stop."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Assemblyman Jeong Seong-ho are conversing at the National Defense Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly on the 23rd. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@
She also criticized former National Assembly Speaker Park Byeong-seok (currently affiliated with the DPK), mentioning the so-called "complete withdrawal of prosecution powers" law. She said, "During the tenure of a DPK Speaker, there was a precedent where a mistake was made that ruined a nearly completed meal," explaining, "For example, prosecution reform can only be completed by separating investigation and prosecution, but during the process of limiting investigative powers, legislation was needed to specify corruption and economic cases by presidential decree. At that time, the Speaker suddenly intervened and pressured, saying if the character '중' (jung) was not changed to '등' (deung), he would not strike the gavel. Because of changing that one character from '중' to '등,' it provided a foothold to expand the scope of investigation through enforcement ordinances."
Meanwhile, Jeong emphasized the need for cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties. The previous day, he said, "If we want to achieve results in legislation for people’s livelihood, we have to negotiate even with the minority ruling party," adding, "The formulation and execution of the budget is the government's responsibility. Naturally, it is the government's responsibility, and the ruling party and government are one body. (The Speaker) needs coordination skills, mediation skills, and the ability to communicate with the government and ruling party."
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
