"Ruling Party's Withdrawal of Trial Suspension Law
A Deceptive Stance Toward the Public and Opposition"
Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, strongly objected on the 3rd to the special prosecutor's (Special Prosecutor Cho Eun-seok) request for an arrest warrant for former floor leader Choo Kyung-ho in connection with the rebellion case, stating, "From the very beginning, the special prosecutor had already decided on the conclusion, essentially telling us to just give the answer they wanted, and conducted the investigation with the clear intention of arresting former floor leader Choo."
After visiting the site of wildfire damage in Andong, North Gyeongsang Province, Song met with reporters and said, "I firmly oppose the highly unjust special prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant for former floor leader Choo," reiterating his stance. Earlier, the rebellion special prosecutor's team had requested an arrest warrant for Choo around 4 p.m. on charges of involvement in key tasks related to the rebellion.
Song Eon-seok, floor leader of the People Power Party, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 3rd. Photo by Yonhap News Agency
Song stated, "If the National Assembly receives the motion for consent to arrest, there will be a vote, but it seems highly likely that the Democratic Party of Korea will push it through unilaterally," adding, "Even if the motion passes the National Assembly unilaterally, I want to make it clear that the court can still dismiss the warrant."
Regarding the Democratic Party's announcement that it would not pursue the so-called 'trial suspension law,' a proposed amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would halt the president's trial during their term, he said, "In the morning, they strongly insisted on pushing it, arguing that the cause lies with the court and the People Power Party, but just a few hours later, the party and government coordinated their positions and decided not to pursue it."
He went on to criticize, "It is unclear whether they truly have no intention of pursuing the trial suspension law to the end, or if they plan to try to pass it through the National Assembly again if the court resumes the trial. Their ambiguous stance makes their true intentions difficult to discern."
Regarding President Lee Jaemyung's scheduled policy speech on the 4th concerning next year's government budget of 728 trillion won, Song commented, "Given the request for an arrest warrant for former floor leader Choo and the vacillation over whether to pursue the trial suspension law, which deceives both the public and the opposition, it is difficult for the opposition to participate wholeheartedly."
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