The Democratic Party's All-Out Effort to Block Special Prosecutor Bill by Chaesangbyeong with 'Defection Crackdown and Public Opinion Battle'

Bidaewi "Forcing Opposition Special Prosecutor, Building Grounds for Impeachment"
Former and Current Leadership Contact Lawmakers Over the Weekend

The People Power Party, one day before the re-vote in the National Assembly plenary session on the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act,' is conducting a public opinion campaign toward opposition parties such as the Democratic Party, calling it 'building grounds for impeachment,' while also making individual contacts to prevent defections within the party.

Hwang Woo-yeo, the Emergency Response Committee Chairman, stated at the Emergency Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, that morning, "At the end of the 21st National Assembly, despite various livelihood issues, our party cannot help but express concern about the bill (Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act) that insists on forcibly starting the special prosecutor investigation." He added, "The special prosecutor law has traditionally been promoted and submitted through bipartisan agreement."

Hwang Woo-yeo, Emergency Response Committee Chairman of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on the 27th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Floor Leader Choo Kyung-ho also directly criticized the Democratic Party, saying, "Chae Sang-byeong's line-of-duty death is a heartbreaking matter, and it is the state's duty to ensure such incidents never happen again. However, dragging even the president into this before the investigation results clarifying the essence of the case come out, talking about impeachment, and turning it into a political incident through street protests is not the way to honor the deceased."

Policy Committee Chairman Jung Jeom-sik criticized the mention of President Yoon's impeachment at the opposition's outdoor rally for the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act held last weekend, saying, "They have revealed that the fundamental reason for pushing the special prosecutor investigation on an ongoing case, while even denying the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) they themselves established, is impeachment." Emergency Committee members Jeon Ju-hye and Kim Yong-tae also defined the opposition's push for the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act as 'building grounds for presidential impeachment.'

The People Power Party is also making every effort to strengthen internal unity to block the special prosecutor law. So far, only four People Power Party lawmakers (Ahn Cheol-soo, Yoo Ui-dong, Kim Woong, Choi Jae-hyung) have publicly expressed support for the special prosecutor.

The party leadership has first adopted the rejection of the special prosecutor law as the party's official stance and issued a 'full mobilization order' for all affiliated lawmakers to attend the plenary session. For a re-vote on a bill subject to the veto override right, a majority of the total members must be present, and at least two-thirds of those present must vote in favor for it to pass. From the People Power Party's perspective, having a large number of lawmakers attend the plenary session increases the chances of rejection.

In particular, it is known that former and current party leaders met individually with lawmakers over the weekend. Jang Dong-hyuk, the chief floor spokesperson, said at a National Assembly briefing that morning in response to related questions, "We are doing our best to seek cooperation," adding, "Apart from those who have publicly expressed their positions, no one we contacted has said they would vote in favor."