Lee: "Marine Corps Special Prosecutor Law Passed After Great Effort"
"Itaewon Disaster Special Law, Truly Fortunate with Ruling Party and Opposition Agreement"
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated, "I believe President Yoon Seok-yeol is not the culprit, so he will not reject the Special Prosecutor Act."
At the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 3rd, Lee said, "The statement that the person who refuses the special prosecutor is the culprit has been made by (President Yoon) for years since the last presidential election." He added, "The Special Prosecutor Act related to the fallen Marine soldiers was passed after the tireless efforts of the floor leader," and said, "(Floor Leader Hong Ik-pyo) achieved at least some of what the people wanted through continuous dialogue and persuasion." Floor Leader Hong concluded his term as floor leader after this Supreme Council meeting.
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is embracing Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader, at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 3rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Floor Leader Hong once again refuted the Presidential Office's stance, which expressed concerns about the passage of the Special Prosecutor Act for the fallen Marine soldiers. He said, "I strongly regret the Presidential Office's position that the passage of the Special Prosecutor Act is 'bad politics that exploits death for political purposes,'" and criticized it as "excessive." He emphasized, "If the Presidential Office exercises its veto power, I clearly warn that not only will the Democratic Party strongly resist, but it will also face greater public opposition." He added, "It has been 10 months since the fallen soldier died while searching for missing persons at the flood site last July, and 8 months since the Special Prosecutor Act was proposed," expressing regret over the ruling party's absence from the vote.
At the meeting, Lee also shared his thoughts on the passage of the Itaewon disaster special law. He said, "It is truly fortunate that the Itaewon disaster special law was passed through bipartisan agreement," and added, "I do not understand why the government and ruling party are so stingy about uncovering the truth." He continued, "We must investigate the tragic incident thoroughly and clearly assign responsibility to prevent the same accident from happening again," emphasizing, "This is the minimum duty of the state to protect the lives and safety of the people." Furthermore, he stated, "I believe neglecting the Itaewon disaster ultimately led to the Osong disaster," and argued, "Although overshadowed by many major issues, we must not forget the Osong disaster problem."
Han Min-soo, spokesperson, told reporters after the Supreme Council meeting, "The Special Prosecutor Act related to the fallen Marine soldiers was passed in the plenary session, and if the special prosecutor is rejected, it means the President is rejecting the public sentiment from the general election." He added, "We shared the perception that the necessity of the special prosecutor is overwhelming, as suspicions of higher-level involvement are growing through media reports," and said, "In public opinion polls, an absolute majority supports the Special Prosecutor Act." He then conveyed, "Therefore, if the President's intention to change the government policy to reflect the will of the general election is sincere, the Special Prosecutor Act for the fallen Marine soldiers must not be rejected."
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