Jung Cheongrae: "Cannot Accept the Agreement...It Contradicts the Original Intent"
Democratic Party Poised to Push Ahead with Original Bill at Plenary Session
People Power Party Pushes Back: "Democratic Party Responsible for National Assembly Disrup
The floor leaders of the Democratic Party and the People Power Party reached an agreement on the amendment to the "Three Major Special Prosecutor Acts" (covering insurrection, Kim Keonhee, and the death-in-the-line-of-duty Marine), but the deal was completely scrapped within a day due to Democratic Party leader Jung Cheongrae's rejection. As a result, not only is the passage of the amendment to the three special prosecutor acts, which was expected to be approved at the plenary session on the afternoon of the 11th, now in doubt, but related discussions such as cooperation on the establishment of the Financial Supervisory Commission are also likely to face significant difficulties.
Democratic Party Floor Leader Kim Byungki and People Power Party Floor Leader Song Unseok are meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul on the 10th. Photo by Yonhap News
Song Unseok, floor leader of the People Power Party, said at the party's Supreme Council meeting at the National Assembly that morning, "Our party made concessions to reach an agreement on the special prosecutor act amendment, but for reasons unknown, we were notified by the Democratic Party this morning that the agreement had been broken." He continued, "President Lee Jaemyung spoke of cooperation, but for the 100th day since his inauguration, he has given the gift of breaking a bipartisan agreement. The ruling Democratic Party must take responsibility for any future disruptions to the National Assembly's schedule."
The Democratic Party declared the negotiations to be definitively broken off and announced its intention to proceed with the original bill. Moon Geumjoo, Democratic Party spokesperson for the floor, stated, "We will proceed as originally planned," confirming the intention to bring the three special prosecutor acts to a plenary vote. He explained that although the party expressed willingness to renegotiate, the People Power Party did not accept this.
Leader Jung told reporters at the National Assembly that day, "I could not accept the previous day's proposal, and it did not reflect the leadership's intentions, so I immediately ordered renegotiation." He added, "The core of the special prosecutor act amendment is the extension of the investigation period, so negotiating without extending it directly contradicts the original intent." Kim Byungki, floor leader of the Democratic Party, also commented, "The previous day was only the first round of discussions. We need to report to the Supreme Council and, above all, obtain approval from the general assembly of lawmakers."
Previously, Floor Leaders Kim and Song had reached an agreement on the amended version of the three special prosecutor acts after two meetings the previous day. Under the deal, the Democratic Party would not extend the special prosecutor's investigation period and would only add the minimum necessary personnel, while the People Power Party would refrain from filibustering the special prosecutor act. Additionally, the People Power Party agreed to actively cooperate in the establishment of the Financial Supervisory Commission as part of the government reorganization.
The Democratic Party leadership's reversal is interpreted as reflecting the opinions of hardline lawmakers within the party. Choo Miae, Democratic Party lawmaker and chairperson of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, wrote on social media, "The amendment to the special prosecutor act should focus on strengthening investigative personnel and extending the investigation period to ensure proper investigations into insurrection and high-level corruption."
The People Power Party has announced that if the Democratic Party unilaterally pushes through the special prosecutor act amendment, it will respond strongly, including the use of filibusters. Yoo Sangbeom, deputy floor leader for operations, protested, saying, "Is Jung Cheongrae the only one in the Democratic Party?" and added, "I have doubts about whether we will be able to reach agreements between floor leaders in the future."
Meanwhile, at the plenary session scheduled for the afternoon, a vote will be held on the motion to arrest Kwon Seongdong, a People Power Party lawmaker accused of receiving illegal political funds from the Unification Church. The People Power Party will hold a general assembly of lawmakers before the session to hear Kwon's personal statement and then decide on a response, such as allowing a free vote or refusing to participate in the vote. Given that Kwon has waived his parliamentary immunity from arrest and the Democratic Party holds a majority of seats, the arrest motion is likely to pass smoothly.
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