Prosecution Declines to Appeal First Verdict,
But Na Kyungwon's Intention to Appeal Likely Leads to Second Trial
Na Kyungwon, a member of the People Power Party, stated her intention to appeal the court’s first-instance ruling regarding the so-called “Fast-Track Incident” that took place at the National Assembly in 2019.
On November 27, through her Facebook page, Na said, “This is a case that should never have been prosecuted in the first place.” She added, “It is a tragedy of judicial subjugation of politics, where the political actions of the main opposition party in response to the Democratic Party’s unilateral and unconstitutional parliamentary tyranny have been brought before the courts.” Although prosecutors announced in the afternoon that they would not appeal the first-instance verdicts for former and current People Power Party lawmakers, Na’s intention to appeal means the case is expected to proceed to the appellate court.
Na argued, “This ruling only amounted to formal rule of law, with no substantive justice being guaranteed at all.” “Ultimately, the very act of prosecution has completely stifled the legitimate political resistance of minority parties and has opened the floodgates to parliamentary dictatorship by the Democratic Party,” she claimed. She further added, “If this ruling stands, the avenues to stop the Democratic Party’s dictatorship will become even narrower, and the main opposition will be reduced to a mere bystander and rubber stamp for the legislative tyranny of the ruling party.”
On the afternoon of November 27, the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office announced to the media, “After thorough review and discussion with the investigation and trial teams, as well as with the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office, the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors’ Office has decided not to appeal the first-instance verdicts for all defendants in the ‘Fast-Track-related violations of the National Assembly Act by the Liberty Korea Party’ case.”
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