Jeong Cheongrae: "The Time Is Coming for the People Power Party to Choose Between Self-Dissolution or Being Disbanded"

Jeong Cheongrae Criticizes Na Kyungwon's "First-Term Lawmakers Should Stay Quiet" Remark
Says People Power Party Could Face Dissolution If Chu Kyungho Is Convicted of Insurrection
Raises Suspicions of National Intelligence Service Cover-Up Over

On September 3, Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, criticized Na Kyungwon, a lawmaker from the People Power Party, for her remarks telling first-term lawmakers to "stay quiet," calling it "an unprecedentedly outrageous comment that is hard to believe." Addressing the People Power Party, he stated, "The time is approaching when you must choose whether to dissolve yourselves or be dissolved by the people and the Constitutional Court."

At the Supreme Council meeting of the Democratic Party held at the National Assembly that day, Jeong said, "Are you saying first-term lawmakers should just watch the ritual and eat rice cakes? Should first-term lawmakers just stay silent? Are first-term lawmakers mere bystanders? I have no way of knowing what Na means by saying first-term lawmakers know nothing, but she seems to lack basic manners." He added, "Whether a lawmaker is in their first or fifth term, the salary and compensation are the same, and they have the same rights and responsibilities. Being in a fifth term does not make someone five times more virtuous than a first-term lawmaker. I believe there are more outstanding first-term lawmakers than those in their fifth term who are outdated and corrupt."

Jeong Cheongrae, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on September 3, 2025. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

Jeong also urged Na to respond regarding the ongoing six-year trial for violating the National Assembly Advancement Act, her stance on the 12·3 Martial Law, and whether she agrees with calls from some within the People Power Party for the release of former President Yoon Sukyeol and Kim Keonhee. He added, "Even if first-term lawmakers from the People Power Party sit quietly as instructed by Na, I hope first-term lawmakers from the Democratic Party will not remain silent and will actively express their opinions."

Additionally, Jeong mentioned, "It has been confirmed that there is a National Intelligence Service report containing the recommendation not to designate the attack on President Lee Jaemyung, which occurred when he was the Democratic Party leader, as a terrorist act." He stated, "This is evidence that the incident was systematically concealed, downplayed, distorted, and manipulated at the government level." The previous day, Park Sunwon, the Democratic Party's secretary on the National Assembly Intelligence Committee, reported that during a special audit of the National Intelligence Service, a legal adviser named Jeongwon had submitted a report recommending against designating the incident as a terrorist act.

Referring to the attack at the time, Jeong said, "Even then, I had the impression that the investigation was somehow minimized, and that evidence was not thoroughly preserved or investigated. The scene of the police cleaning the site with water buckets still seems strange to me, no matter how many times I think about it," adding, "It now appears to be proven that they were busy destroying evidence with water cleaning, minimizing, and concealing the incident by any means."

Jeong also cited media reports, saying, "If it is confirmed that Choo Kyungho, former floor leader of the People Power Party, was indicted and found guilty in the first trial as a key participant in an insurrection for allegedly obstructing a parliamentary vote, then the People Power Party would become a party of insurrection. In that case, it seems inevitable that the party would be subject to a Constitutional Court review for dissolution as an unconstitutional party." He continued, "Based on the Unified Progressive Party precedent, the People Power Party would have to be dissolved 10, 100, 1,000, or even 10,000 times," adding, "The time is approaching for the People Power Party to choose whether to dissolve itself or be dissolved by the people and the Constitutional Court."