Kwon Seong-dong: "It's time for Lee Jae-myung to be judged by the people"
Constitutional Court Justice Nomination Defended as "Proper Exercise of Authority" in Korea... Kwon Seong-dong: "Lee Jae-myung Dreams of Dictatorship"
The People Power Party intensified its offensive against Lee Jae-myung, the former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and the top presidential candidate who officially announced his bid for the presidency on the 9th. This move is interpreted as an attempt to curb Lee's rising approval ratings by highlighting the Democratic Party's repeated proposals of impeachment motions and special investigation bills during the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, as well as their recent opposition to constitutional amendments.
On the morning of the same day, Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, held a press conference at the National Assembly and stated, "The Lee Jae-myung faction is the main culprit behind the destruction of the constitutional order and a group that has triggered national internal conflict and political crises, with Lee Jae-myung himself as the leader. The upcoming presidential election must rightfully be an election to judge the Lee Jae-myung faction."
Kwon criticized the Lee faction, saying, "The Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung faction insists they are the defenders of the constitution. This is the linguistic distortion typically shown by left-wing forces," and accused them of causing confusion in state governance. He added, "Look back at what the Lee faction has done over the past three years. They proposed impeachment motions 30 times and special investigation bills 33 times," and criticized them for "forcing numerous abnormal and abusive hearings that cannot even be counted."
He further mentioned the push for an impeachment hearing against Deputy Prime Minister Choi Sang-mok and budget cuts for 2025, saying, "All of this is unprecedented since the founding of the Republic of Korea," and raised his voice, "The Lee Jae-myung faction is indeed the main culprit behind the destruction of the constitutional order and the group that has triggered national internal conflict and political crises. The leader of this group is none other than Lee Jae-myung himself."
Kwon Seong-dong: "It's time for Lee Jae-myung to be judged by the people"
Kwon Seong-dong, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Emergency Response Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on April 3, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyun-min
Kwon claimed that the Democratic Party's actions aim to shield Lee from prosecution. He said, "This is a political conspiracy to push the country into state collapse before the final conviction of Lee Jae-myung, who is accused in 12 criminal cases, and to seize state power through an early presidential election," and appealed, "On the 4th, former President Yoon was legally judged by the Constitutional Court. Now, it is time for the Democratic Party's Lee Jae-myung faction to be judged by the people."
He also increased pressure on Lee regarding constitutional amendments. Kwon stated, "The June 3 presidential election should mark the end of the 1987 system and the beginning of the Seventh Republic. Until now, the legislature and government have exchanged extreme measures such as serial impeachments and martial law," and pointed out, "We must move toward a structure that disperses the imperial presidential power and limits the abuse of power by the imperial legislature." Regarding Lee's opposition to constitutional amendments, he attacked, "The majority of the people, national elders, the Speaker of the National Assembly, the People Power Party, and even the Democratic Party presidential candidates support constitutional amendments. Yet only the Lee Jae-myung faction opposes it. This is a reactionary behavior rejecting new change and historical progress."
Kwon also urged the Democratic Party to apologize for impeaching Acting President and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. Referring to Han's phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump, who had been in office for 78 days, Kwon said, "The Korea-U.S. summit diplomacy, which had been stalled due to the Lee faction's impeachment of Acting President Han, has now resumed," and demanded, "The Lee faction must apologize for the political impeachment that obstructed Korea-U.S. summit diplomacy and caused serious harm to national interests."
The People Power Party also repeatedly highlighted Lee's judicial risks. Joo Jin-woo, the party's legal advisory committee chairman, plans to submit a motion for a speedy trial regarding Lee to the Supreme Court on the 10th. The legal advisory committee argued in the motion, "Since the conclusions of the first and second trials differ, the Supreme Court must promptly clarify the legal principles, and there is only about two months left legally," adding, "If the presidential election proceeds without the Supreme Court's judgment, social confusion and national division are inevitable due to issues such as whether the trial will stop after the election." They further stated, "Defendant Lee Jae-myung is delaying the trial not only for election law violations but also in ways that ordinary citizens would find difficult to afford due to legal fees," calling it "judicial manipulation."
Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is leaving the National Assembly on the 9th after resigning from his position as party leader to run in the 21st presidential election. 2025.4.9 Photo by Kim Hyun-min
Constitutional Court Justice Nomination Defended as "Proper Exercise of Authority" in Korea... Kwon Seong-dong: "Lee Jae-myung Dreams of Dictatorship"
Kwon also actively rebutted the Democratic Party's backlash against Acting President Han's nomination of Lee Wan-gyu, head of the Legislation Office, and Ham Sang-hoon, chief judge of the Seoul High Court, as candidates for Constitutional Court justices. Kwon said, "The acting president is the head of the executive branch, not a subordinate of the legislature. The head of the executive branch does not exercise only the powers that suit the Lee Jae-myung faction," and claimed, "The Democratic Party's Lee faction dreams of a dictatorial regime wielding absolute imperial power by controlling the legislature, the executive branch through an early presidential election, and even the Constitutional Court and judiciary."
When asked by reporters whether it was appropriate to nominate Lee, who is under suspicion of aiding rebellion, Kwon defended, "I cannot understand the claim that Lee is unqualified as a Constitutional Court justice just because he has close ties with former President Yoon. Don't we have Constitutional Court justices from the Uri Law Research Association, which is close to the Democratic Party, including Justice Ma Eun-hyuk?" He added, "Lee was investigated due to a Democratic Party complaint, not by indictment."
People Power Party lawmakers also moved to check the Democratic Party and Lee. Members of the party on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee issued a statement saying, "In the event of a presidential vacancy, the nomination of Constitutional Court justice candidates by Acting President Han is for the continuity of state affairs and maintenance of the constitutional order, and is a natural constitutional duty," and criticized Lee, saying, "He is making unreasonable claims that the acting president is pretending to be the president, but he should not be mistaken. The one who is actually deluded into thinking he is the president is none other than himself."
Yoo Sang-beom, the People Power Party's floor whip on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, told reporters at the National Assembly regarding Lee's appointment, "Is it appropriate for Lee, who is currently a defendant in five cases and undergoing important trials, to run as a presidential candidate? I absolutely think it is not appropriate." When asked whether the acting president should have made the nomination ahead of the presidential election in two months, he replied, "Is it appropriate to pass a bill extending the term of a Constitutional Court justice whose term is fixed by the constitution, or is it appropriate for the prime minister, who must exercise the president's actual powers due to a vacancy, to nominate a Constitutional Court justice as acting president? The latter is an act in accordance with the constitution and law."
Lee Wan-gyu, head of the Ministry of Legislation, who has been nominated as a Constitutional Court justice candidate, attended the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 9th. Photo by Yonhap News
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