Park Chan-dae: "Blocking Yoon's Arrest Constitutes Conspiracy to Rebellion and Obstruction of Special Official Duties"
"People Power Party Also Admits Illegality of Attempt to Replace Presidential Candidate"
Park Chan-dae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, announced on July 29 that if he becomes the party leader, he will file criminal charges against 45 People Power Party lawmakers who gathered in front of the official residence in Hannam-dong, Yongsan-gu, Seoul to prevent the arrest of former President Yoon Suk-yeol, as well as three members of the then party leadership (Kwon Young-se, Emergency Response Committee Chair; Kwon Sung-dong, Floor Leader; Lee Yang-soo, Secretary-General) who attempted to replace the People Power Party's presidential candidate.
At a press conference held at the National Assembly's communication center that morning, Park declared, "Those who trampled on the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea and violated democracy will be brought to justice without exception."
Previously, on January 6, Park had stated that he would propose a resolution calling for the expulsion of the 45 People Power Party lawmakers who blocked the execution of the arrest warrant for then-President Yoon Suk-yeol by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials. This time, he went further by mentioning criminal action, increasing pressure on the People Power Party.
Regarding this, Park said, "I will also file additional charges against the 45 People Power Party lawmakers who acted as shields for Yoon Suk-yeol," adding, "These 45 Eulsa Ojeok formed a human chain to block Yoon Suk-yeol's arrest and disrupted judicial procedures. This constitutes conspiracy to rebellion and the crime of obstructing special official duties," he asserted.
He continued, "I am preparing to propose a resolution calling for the expulsion of these lawmakers from the National Assembly," emphasizing, "I will ensure that they are tried fairly in a special tribunal, not a regular court."
He also insisted that the leadership who attempted to replace the People Power Party's presidential candidate from Kim Moon-soo, who won the primary, to Prime Minister Han Duck-soo during the last presidential election should be investigated as well.
He criticized, "What they did was not simply an internal political struggle. Manipulating the primary in the early hours when everyone was asleep and attempting to swap the candidate was an outrageous fraud and a coup in the presidential election by those conspiring with rebellion."
He went on to say, "There are suspicions that 16 billion won of primary expenses, which included taxpayers' money, was wasted in the process. If these suspicions are true, it constitutes breach of duty and loss of state funds," he emphasized.
Park stated, "On July 25, even the People Power Party's Party Affairs Audit Committee concluded that the June 3 decision to replace the presidential candidate was illegal," stressing, "This is not an internal party dispute but a clear criminal case to which the Public Official Election Act, the crime of loss of state funds, and embezzlement charges can be applied."
Immediately after the press conference, Park told reporters, "I will do my best to achieve the final victory, and if I become the party leader, I will immediately implement what I announced at the press conference."
When asked whether he planned to report suspicions that the People Power Party wasted 16 billion won in primary funds to investigative authorities, he explained the need for an investigation, saying, "There are suspicions that promotional materials and campaign vehicles were already prepared. They must have been discarded as they were, but whether the 16 billion won was preserved or recovered, the public will have reasonable doubts about what happened to the 16 billion won."
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