People Power Party Unites Against Special Prosecutor's Raid... Jang Donghyuk: "Low-Grade Violence by Political Thugs"

"Despicable Political Maneuver to Silence the Opposition"
People Power Party Holds Emergency Supreme Council Meeting and General Assembly in Protest
"Will Confront the Ruling Party with Voices from Both Inside and Outside the Assembly"

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, strongly condemned the attempted search and seizure by the special prosecutor's team investigating the insurrection, calling it "low-grade violence by political thugs disguised as law," and declared that his party would respond actively. As the special prosecutor's team made another attempt to search not only the offices of People Power Party lawmakers but also the floor leader's office and the administrative office, tensions between the People Power Party, the special prosecutor, and the Democratic Party of Korea are expected to escalate.

Jang Donghyuk, the leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at an emergency Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on September 3, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

At the emergency Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of September 3, Jang stated, "Today, on September 3, 2025, I declare an end to the witch hunt labeling us as an insurrectionist party," and added, "Not long ago, the special prosecutor's team stormed our party headquarters, the heart of our 5 million members, attempting to seize the party membership list. Yesterday, they raided the floor leader's office and the parliamentary administration office, which are the core of our legislative operations."

He continued, "The floor leader's office and the parliamentary administration office are the central command posts that lead our party's strategy. This is a crude and despicable political maneuver aimed at breaking the backbone of the People Power Party's leadership and silencing the opposition."

He further argued, "Ironically, yesterday's search and seizure only made it clear that the Democratic Party's campaign to label us as an insurrectionist party is nothing but an empty shell. The special prosecutor's attempt to scrutinize every detail in the People Power Party's floor leader's office, supposedly to uncover the truth about what happened during a few hours on the evening of December 3, 2024, has only exposed to the world how baseless and absurd this witch hunt has been."

Song Unseok, the floor leader, also criticized, "According to the search warrant, the period for the search and seizure covers everything from when former floor leader Chu Kyungho was elected in May 2024 up to today. Are they claiming that Assemblyman Chu Kyungho somehow had the supernatural ability to predict martial law six months in advance and prepare to obstruct the vote? Is Special Prosecutor Cho Eunseok traveling around in a time machine?"

Jang Donghyuk, leader of the People Power Party, and Song Unseok, floor leader, along with other leadership members, are attending an emergency Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on September 3, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

During the meeting, Supreme Council members from the pro-impeachment faction also voiced unified criticism of the special prosecutor's search and seizure. Yang Hyangja, a Supreme Council member, said, "When the Democratic Party's central headquarters was searched in the fall of 2022 over the Daejang-dong preferential treatment allegations, then-leader Lee Jaemyung tearfully appealed to the public to protect democracy. Now, those who claimed to be victims at that time have become the perpetrators, ransacking the main opposition party's headquarters, lawmakers' offices, and the floor leader's office under the pretext of a search and seizure."

She continued, "At the very least, the Speaker of the National Assembly must not remain silent. The reason the Speaker is legally prohibited from holding party membership is because the role is to safeguard the National Assembly and democracy, not any particular faction or party. This incident, in which investigative authorities have violated the independence of the National Assembly while the Speaker turned a blind eye, will remain a lasting stain on South Korean democracy."

Following the emergency Supreme Council meeting that morning, the People Power Party also held a general assembly of lawmakers to devise countermeasures against the special prosecutor's search and seizure. Immediately after the general assembly, the party leadership, party staff, and aides held an emergency protest in the main building of the National Assembly. Park Sunghoon, chief spokesperson for the People Power Party, told reporters, "Many lawmakers are outraged, so we expect a continuous stream of statements condemning the special prosecutor," and added, "We plan to confront the ruling party's ruthless rampage not only with voices from within the National Assembly, but also from outside."