"Parliamentary Violence Has Crossed the Line"
Public Criticism Erupts
As the opposition party pushes for a bill to strengthen penalties for violent acts against members of the National Assembly, Hong Joon-pyo, Mayor of Daegu, publicly criticized, saying, "The Democratic Party's parliamentary violence is going too far."
On the afternoon of the 24th, Mayor Hong posted on his Facebook account, "It is said that the Democratic Party has proposed a bill to impose aggravated punishment if the public assaults a member of the National Assembly." He sarcastically added, "Why not also propose a bill to sentence to death anyone who assaults Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party's 'father'?"
This follows the announcement by Jang Kyung-tae, a 'pro-Lee Jae-myung faction' member of the Democratic Party, that he is preparing to propose an amendment to the National Assembly Act to expand the existing 'prohibition of obstruction of National Assembly meetings' to 'prohibition of obstruction of legislative activities.'
Mayor Hong warned, "If this continues, public resistance demanding the dissolution of the National Assembly may intensify," adding, "If the Democratic Party, holding an overwhelming majority of seats, does not exercise its power for the people and keeps using it for such parliamentary violence, it will be difficult for the Democratic Party to expect success in the next election forever." He further stated, "If administrative power is also given to parliamentary violence, it will become a country ruled by Hitler," and added, "Would our people tolerate a corrupt thug becoming like Hitler?"
Under current law, anyone who obstructs a member's access to the meeting hall or the execution of official duties by acts such as assault, confinement, or threats in or near the National Assembly meeting hall with the intent to disrupt the meeting is subject to imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to 10 million won.
The amendment proposed by Representative Jang expands the condition from "in or near the meeting hall" to "acts intended to obstruct any legislative activity." It also introduces a provision that if the obstruction occurs in or near the National Assembly meeting hall, the penalty may be increased by up to half of the existing sentence.
In particular, Representative Jang stated the purpose of the amendment, saying, "In January last year, Representative Lee Jae-myung was attacked with a double-edged sword to the neck by a citizen in Gangseo-gu, Busan. Since then, he has suffered threats of assassination with a handgun and has requested police protection measures," adding, "The aim is to heavily punish various types of violent acts that obstruct the legislative activities of members of the National Assembly and to protect their activities."
If the amendment passes, criticism arises that the level of punishment for violent acts outside the National Assembly may vary depending on whether the victim is a member of the National Assembly or not. Ham In-kyung, spokesperson for the People Power Party, said in a statement that day, "It is appalling that members of the National Assembly, entrusted with authority as representatives of the people, intend to use their legislative power to impose aggravated punishment on the public," and opposed, "Withdraw immediately this special privilege bill that seeks to protect members of the National Assembly more than ordinary citizens under the pretext of 'protecting the activities of members of the National Assembly.'"
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