"‘Kwon Seong-dong's Explanation Is Better'... Lee Jae-myung Actively Addresses Treason Controversy"

Revisiting Past Remarks of Kwon Seong-dong, Floor Leader and Former Head of Park Geun-hye Impeachment Committee
Lee Jae-myung Also Explains Using Examples Like Divorce

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, actively clarified the controversy on the 8th regarding the removal of 'treason' from the impeachment motion against President Yoon Suk-yeol. In particular, Lee drew attention by recalling that Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, made related remarks during the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye, saying, "I hope Floor Leader Kwon regains his wisdom."

At the Democratic Party's Supreme Council meeting held on the 8th, Lee said, "(Regarding the impeachment motion against President Yoon) there was talk about whether treason was removed or not, but since Floor Leader Kwon explained it so clearly, I hesitate to say more."

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 8th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Before Lee's closing remarks, Han Jun-ho, a Supreme Council member of the Democratic Party, played a video related to Floor Leader Kwon's past handling of the impeachment agenda. In the video, Floor Leader Kwon explained about organizing the impeachment agenda of former President Park, saying, "The impeachment trial is a kind of administrative lawsuit that decides the dismissal of the president," and "Whether guilty or not is a matter to be judged in a criminal court, and the impeachment court only judges whether it violates the Constitution and laws." He continued, "To put it simply, if the impeachment trial were to be conducted on the issue of whether a crime is established or not, the impeachment trial ruling would be delayed until a guilty verdict is pronounced, causing endless delays in the impeachment trial process. Therefore, the establishment of a crime is not subject to constitutional court judgment, so while preserving the specific facts that constitute the crime, the agenda is organized as violating the constitutional principles."

Regarding this, Lee said, "When I listen to what Floor Leader Kwon said in the past, it makes a lot of sense," and added, "It doesn't seem like he said it unknowingly." He also joked, "Shouldn't we invite him to join our party?"

Lee himself also explained the related controversy using a prepared example. The example involved a head of a household who set fire to his house and almost killed his family with a knife, was arrested by the police, and whose wife filed for divorce citing assault as the reason. After mentioning this example, Lee said, "The family court judge said that hitting the family and being unable to live together due to insanity are grounds for divorce," and explained, "So instead of using the word 'crime' like assault or arson, it was just said as 'hit,' 'set fire,' 'cannot live together,' and 'please allow the divorce,' which is what was organized this time."

Lee said, "Originally, the court is supposed to organize things like this," and added, "It is not that the judgment on the act of rebellion was withdrawn, but whether it constitutes a crime is determined by the criminal court, and the constitutional court is asked to quickly determine whether the act of rebellion violates the Constitution and whether it is appropriate for the president to continue his duties."

After this explanation, Lee smiled and added, "Certainly, Floor Leader Kwon's explanation seems better."