Opposition Reacts to Veto of 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Law'... Yoon Geon-young Says "Yoon Builds Up His Own Ruin"

Opposition's Full-Scale Attack: "Rejecting the Veto on the Special Prosecutor Act"
Democratic Party and Opposition Rally Outside on the 25th
Rising Tensions with "Unconstitutional," "Impeachment," and "Declaration of War" Remarks

President Yoon Suk-yeol's veto of the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act' has sparked strong backlash from the Democratic Party of Korea and other opposition parties. The opposition, which has announced a full-scale confrontation including street protests, is escalating the 'strong against strong' conflict between the ruling and opposition parties, even calling for President Yoon's impeachment.

On the 21st, opposition party lawmakers including Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Cho Kuk, leader of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, held a joint press conference with opposition parties and civil society at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, condemning the re-request for the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act'.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 22nd, Yoon Geon-young, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, appeared on CBS Radio's 'Kim Hyun-jung's News Show' and said, "(President Yoon) is building up a path leading to destruction by himself."

Yoon said, "Whether it's a special prosecutor or anything else, (President Yoon) is focusing on protecting himself," adding, "The People Power Party says the Democratic Party is building up impeachment, but I think the one building up destruction is President Yoon himself." Regarding President Yoon's veto, he evaluated it as "a kind of declaration of war against the people and the opposition."

Immediately after President Yoon's veto announcement the previous day, the seven opposition parties (Democratic Party, Party for National Innovation, Reform New Party, New Future Party, Basic Income Party, Progressive Party, and Justice Party) held a joint press conference with civil society groups at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, strongly condemning the request for reconsideration of the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act.' At the event, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, said, "The current power may seem big, strong, and eternal, like a huge ship floating on water, but remember that the people are like water, capable of floating the ship and overturning it at any time," and raised his voice, saying, "The Yoon Suk-yeol administration must remember that before the people's anger and the judgment of history, it is like a small boat with a sail before the waves."

Jo Guk, leader of the Party for National Innovation, said, "President Yoon is following President Rhee Syngman with a typical administrative dictatorship abusing the veto," and predicted, "When the 22nd National Assembly opens, we will make the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act more thorough to uncover the truth."

Some opposition figures have raised their criticism to the extent of mentioning impeachment against President Yoon.

Park Ji-won, a Democratic Party member-elect (representing Haenam, Wando, and Jindo in Jeollanam-do), said in an interview with YTN Radio's 'Shin Yul's News Frontline' on the same day, "President Yoon's lame duck status will accelerate, and the mileage for the special prosecutor will accumulate, leading the people and the opposition to the path of a special prosecutor." Regarding the acceleration of the lame duck, he said, "Even Han Dong-hoon, the former emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party, whom he trusted the most, has started to turn away, and all the People Power Party leadership candidates have turned their backs. If the public sentiment caused a crushing defeat in the general election, the meaning of the paulownia tree planted must be understood. The president cannot be this unaware."

He added, "The April 19 Revolution, May 18 Gwangju Uprising, June 10 Democracy Movement, and Candlelight Revolution against the fraudulent March 15 election were not started by politicians but by the people, the masses, and the public to overcome national crises," and predicted, "If such things continue now, the people will never remain silent." He continued, "The mileage for impeachment is steadily accumulating. Then the people and the opposition have no choice but to go down the path of impeachment."

Meanwhile, the opposition plans to hold a large-scale street rally in downtown Seoul on the 25th to pressure the Yoon Suk-yeol administration.