"Nothing More Than Public Shaming of Kim Seonkyo, Yoon Sanghyun, and Kwon Seongdong"
"District Court Must Stop Acting as a Servant for the Lee Administration"
On August 18, the People Power Party once again called for an end to what it described as "unconstitutional and illegal searches and seizures" by the special prosecutor Min Jungki's team, which is investigating allegations related to First Lady Kim Keonhee.
Song Eonseok, the acting emergency committee chair and floor leader of the People Power Party, held an on-site general assembly in front of the KT Building in Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Seoul, and warned, "I issue a warning to Min Jungki, the enforcer for the Lee Jaemyung administration," adding, "We strongly condemn the anti-human rights, unconstitutional, and anti-democratic Min Jungki special prosecutor, which violates the Constitution."
Song pointed out, "Conducting searches and seizures to collect the personal information of millions of people, regardless of any criminal charges, violates the constitutional principle of proportionality," and added, "It also directly contravenes Article 215 of the Criminal Procedure Act, which prohibits blanket warrants."
He continued, "Conducting searches and seizures not only at the offices but even at the residences of opposition lawmakers, including Kim Seonkyo, Yoon Sanghyun, and Kwon Seongdong, without sufficient grounds or evidence, amounts to indiscriminate public shaming," and stated, "We strongly condemn the Min Jungki political special prosecutor's oppression of the opposition and political retaliation, which disregards the law, human rights, and principles, leaving only media manipulation."
Joo Jinwoo, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, added, "This special prosecutor is a biased and partial investigation created by the ruling party to target the opposition," and said, "The attempt to seize the party membership list, which is the lifeline of the People Power Party, has gone far beyond acceptable limits."
Lawmakers gathered at the scene chanted slogans such as, "Stop the search and seizure for opposition oppression and political retaliation," and "We will protect the party membership list from the special prosecutor destroying democracy."
The People Power Party continued its emergency general assembly in front of the Seoul Central District Court, which issued the search and seizure warrant. At the on-site assembly held in front of the court in Seocho-gu, Song urged the court to "immediately stop acting as a servant of the Lee Jaemyung administration." He further pointed out, "The special prosecutor, who now acts as the enforcer for the Lee Jaemyung administration, is raiding our party headquarters and attempting to seize the personal information of five million party members in its entirety," and added, "It was the Seoul Central District Court that issued the search and seizure warrant for such a special prosecutor."
Song emphasized, "The Seoul Central District Court has long acted as a handmaiden for the Lee Jaemyung administration," and asserted, "The reckless issuance of search and seizure warrants by the Seoul Central District Court will be recorded as a dark chapter in the history of judicial justice in the Republic of Korea."
On this day, the Min Jungki special prosecutor's team sent investigators and a forensic team to the People Power Party secretary-general's office in the main building of the National Assembly, presented a search and seizure warrant, and again requested cooperation in cross-checking the party membership list with the list of Unification Church members. As the special prosecutor's team resumed its search and seizure efforts, the People Power Party continued to hold a closed-door general assembly in the National Assembly.
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