Jang Donghyeok's Hunger Strike Demand for 'Dual Special Prosecutor' Stalls as Ruling and Opposition Floor Leaders Remain at an Impasse

Woo Wonshik, Speaker of the National Assembly (center), Han Byungdo, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party of Korea (left), and Song Eonseok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, are posing for a commemorative photo during a meeting of the floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties held on the 14th at the Speaker's Office in the National Assembly, Yeouido, Seoul. Photo by Kim Hyunmin

The floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties continued negotiations on January 18 regarding the "dual special prosecutor" proposal demanded by the People Power Party, which covers both the Unification Church and candidate nomination funds, but failed to reach common ground.

The Democratic Party of Korea announced to the press that Han Byungdo, Floor Leader of the Democratic Party, and Song Eonseok, Floor Leader of the People Power Party, held a one-on-one closed-door meeting at the National Assembly for about 30 minutes on the same day.

During the meeting, Floor Leader Song reiterated the People Power Party's existing position that the special prosecutor investigation into the Unification Church and Shincheonji, as proposed by the Democratic Party, should be split so that only the Unification Church case is handled separately. However, Floor Leader Han insisted that the special prosecutor should investigate not only the Unification Church but also political interference by religious groups such as Shincheonji, including both in the scope of the investigation.

The Democratic Party stated, "The negotiations remained at an impasse and ended without any agreement or progress," adding that there are no additional meetings scheduled for January 19.

Currently, Jang Donghyeok, a representative of the People Power Party, is on the fourth day of a hunger strike at the National Assembly, urging the Democratic Party to accept the dual special prosecutor proposal. The Democratic Party criticized this as "political theater to avoid investigation" and made it clear that they cannot accept the demand.

Additionally, the ruling and opposition parties remain at odds over holding a confirmation hearing for Lee Hyehoon, the nominee for Minister of the Office for Government Policy Coordination. The People Power Party has declared a complete boycott of the hearing, citing the nominee's failure to submit required documents. However, the Democratic Party insists that the hearing should proceed as scheduled on January 19, in accordance with the previously agreed-upon timetable.