Legislation and Judiciary Committee Requests Submission of Yoon's Detention Center Visitation Records
Democratic Party Criticizes "Unthinkable Act" by Former President Yoon
People Power Party Lawmakers Protest the Request
On August 1, the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee requested the Ministry of Justice to submit the visitation records of former President Yoon Suk-yeol at the detention center. The Democratic Party of Korea criticized the incident in which former President Yoon, currently in custody, strongly refused the special prosecutor's attempt to arrest him while only wearing his underwear, calling it "an unthinkable act."
On the 1st, the partial amendment to the Commercial Act was passed at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee plenary meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Yonhap News
During a plenary session held that afternoon, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee introduced an agenda item requesting the Ministry of Justice to submit documents, including visitation records of former President Yoon during his detention. The motion passed with 10 votes in favor and 6 abstentions out of 16 members present. All People Power Party members abstained, and the motion was passed under the leadership of the Democratic Party.
Earlier that day, the Democratic Party's Special Committee for Comprehensive Response to the Three Major Special Prosecutors held a press conference and announced that former President Yoon had met with his attorneys and others for a total of 395 hours and 18 minutes during his entire detention period, with 348 individuals listed as visitors.
The visitation list reportedly includes People Power Party lawmakers Yoon Sanghyun, Kwon Youngse, Kim Minjeon, Lee Cheolgyu, Kim Giheon, as well as former Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jinseok.
People Power Party lawmakers protested. Park Hyungsoo, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee secretary for the People Power Party, stated, "It is difficult to understand why this is being requested now," and added, "I do not think it is appropriate for the National Assembly to demand the submission of such materials in this way when the purpose is unclear."
Democratic Party lawmakers strongly criticized former President Yoon's refusal to cooperate with the special prosecutor's investigation.
Park Jiweon, a Democratic Party lawmaker, remarked, "How can a former president shamelessly refuse to wear clothes and, when the special prosecutor comes to execute the warrant, lie down and refuse to get up in such a disgraceful manner?" He added, "Such acts are unthinkable in a law-abiding country like the Republic of Korea."
He went on to urge the chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, "Please call on the Minister of Justice to ensure strict enforcement of the law, and order former President Yoon to keep his clothes on in the future."
The special prosecutor team led by Min Jungki, which is investigating various allegations against Kim Keonhee, attempted to execute an arrest warrant on former President Yoon that day, as he had repeatedly refused to cooperate with the investigation. However, the team explained that former President Yoon refused to be arrested while lying on the floor wearing only his underwear.
Park Hyungsoo stated, "Amendments to the Commercial Act and other such laws are extremely important for the future of the Republic of Korea, yet here we are discussing whether former President Yoon was wearing a prison uniform, not wearing one, wearing underwear, or not wearing underwear. Is this really what we should be talking about right now?"
Song Seokjun, a People Power Party lawmaker, also said, "Please ensure that there are no unfair acts such as forced execution intended to humiliate someone."
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