On July 16, the Party for National Innovation urged the Ministry of Justice to file a petition for the dissolution of the People Power Party, stating, "The People Power Party cannot stop undermining the constitutional order unless it is dissolved as a political party."
Kim Sunmin, acting president of the Party for National Innovation, held a press conference at the National Assembly's communication center that morning and said, "We urge the Ministry of Justice to proceed with the process of filing a petition for the dissolution of the People Power Party as an unconstitutional party, in accordance with the authority entrusted by the people."
Kim noted, "On January 5, the Party for National Innovation stood here and called on the Ministry of Justice to initiate the dissolution process against the People Power Party, which supported, defended, and protected Yoon Suk Yeol's rebellion as an unconstitutional party," adding, "192 days have passed, Yoon Suk Yeol has been removed from office, and a new government has taken office since then."
He continued, "However, the People Power Party continues to abuse its status as the main opposition party to defend Yoon Suk Yeol's rebellion," criticizing, "They are undermining the fundamental liberal democratic order of the Republic of Korea and continuing a low-intensity rebellion."
Kim referenced the December 2014 dissolution of the Unified Progressive Party as an unconstitutional party, stating, "The People Power Party is at a level of severity incomparable to the Unified Progressive Party."
He said, "The Unified Progressive Party was dissolved for merely conspiring to commit rebellion," and added, "The president and leadership of the People Power Party actually carried out a rebellion, and the party not only supported and defended the rebellion but also incited the exercise of the 'right to resist' in step with far-right groups." He further stated, "They stopped just short of crossing the courthouse wall, but made every effort to prevent the arrest of Yoon Suk Yeol. The entire nation witnessed this live."
He also pointed out, "They went a step further than the Unified Progressive Party. They disregarded the principle of separation of powers and shook the judiciary," adding, "They attempted to paralyze the Constitutional Court by obstructing the appointment of Constitutional Court justices and refused to comply with the court's issuance of an arrest and detention warrant for Yoon Suk Yeol."
He emphasized, "Nothing short of party dissolution will stop the People Power Party from undermining the constitutional order," adding, "Injustice feeds on indifference and resignation."
The Party for National Innovation had previously called on the Ministry of Justice to file for the dissolution of the People Power Party as an unconstitutional party in January of this year.
After the press conference, Lee Kyuwon, the Party for National Innovation's head of strategic planning, told reporters, "About a month after we submitted our petition, we only received a brief response saying, 'We will take your petition into consideration in legal administration,'" adding, "It was essentially treated as a 'blank closure.'" He continued, "Since the Minister and Vice Minister of Justice are about to change, we have resubmitted the same petition without changing a single word."
Kim Sunmin said, "I expect that once the new Minister of Justice is appointed following today's confirmation hearing, the petition case will also enter a new phase. Since the special prosecutor for the rebellion is also continuing to look into this case, I anticipate that there may be some progress, even though the petition content remains the same."
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