Song Eonseok Criticizes National Assembly Security Division for Allowing Search Team Entry
Says, "Impossible Without Speaker's Approval...A Cowardly Person"
Woo Wonshik Responds, "Issues Should Be Raised with the Court...An Insult to the Speaker"
Song Eonseok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, criticized National Assembly Speaker Woo Wonshik, saying, "You should abandon your selfish attitude of expecting respect for your own authority while showing no respect for the authority of the opposition floor leader." On the 7th, Song wrote on his social media, "Standing atop Tiananmen Gate in Beijing, watching the Chinese Victory Day military parade with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Kim Jong Un, and shaking hands with those responsible for the Myanmar massacre, Speaker Woo's first statement upon returning was an emotionally charged criticism of the main opposition party."
Song Eonseok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party. Photo by National Assembly Press Photographers Group
Song continued, "This is deeply regrettable. There's a saying, 'You get slapped in Jongno and glare at someone on the Han River.' It seems Speaker Woo, after being snubbed in China, is taking out his frustration on the opposition in the National Assembly." He added, "Speaker Woo's statement is evasive. The People Power Party has raised only one issue: Until the morning of September 3, the National Assembly's Security Division did not allow the special prosecutor's search and seizure team to enter the main building. However, at around 1 p.m. on September 3, not only was the search team allowed entry, but they were also kindly guided to the People Power Party's floor leader's office." He pointed out, "The abrupt change in the Security Division's stance-blocking entry until then and suddenly permitting and guiding it around 1 p.m.-would not have been possible without the approval or authorization of the Secretary General of the National Assembly and, above that, the Speaker of the National Assembly."
He went on, "The party and the special prosecutor faced difficulties during the negotiation process. Before entering the main building, the special prosecutor's team effectively refused to negotiate with our party and insisted on carrying out a forced search and seizure of the office. This was possible only because they were confident that 'after 1 p.m. on September 3, they could enter the main building and proceed with the search and seizure.'" He continued, "There is no choice but to raise a reasonable suspicion that there was coordination between the Speaker and the special prosecutor's team. The subsequent agreement to execute the warrant in the form of voluntary submission was due to the strong resistance of the People Power Party, not because of Speaker Woo's request for negotiation."
On September 3, while confronting the special prosecutor for over four hours regarding the search and seizure, Song told reporters, "Speaker Woo is a very cowardly person. He had already set a time and approved the execution of the warrant, but outwardly deceived the People Power Party by saying, 'It is desirable to agree on a voluntary submission.'" On the 4th, he further criticized, "The search and seizure warrant presented by the special prosecutor completely disregards the basic principles of the rule of law. This is not an investigation, but crude violence."
In response, Speaker Woo stated on the 7th, "Approval of a warrant is the court's responsibility. If you believe there is a flaw in the issued warrant, it is common sense to raise the issue with the judiciary. Completely denying and disregarding the Speaker's efforts for smooth operation of the National Assembly is not only an insult to the Speaker, but also a disgrace to parliamentary politics."
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