 |
| Democratic Party of Korea Chairman Rep. Lee Jae-myung speaks during his visit to an accident site in Anseong, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. Joint Press Corps |
DPK calls for president's apology, threatens boycott of his National Assembly speech
By Nam Hyun-woo
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) is striving to protect Chairman Lee Jae-myung, who is in the crosshairs of prosecutors' investigation of a land development scandal in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, threatening to boycott President Yoon Suk-yeol's scheduled administrative speech this week if there is no apology for, in the DPK's words, "the suppression of the main opposition party."
"We urge President Yoon to apologize to the public and the National Assembly for his suppression of the main opposition party," DPK floor leader Park Hong-keun said during a press conference, Sunday. "If there isn't at least an apology to rebuild trust, the DPK will not be able to tolerate Yoon's administrative speech."
Yoon is scheduled to deliver his administrative speech at the Assembly, Tuesday, which will be about explaining the government's budget for next year and seeking cooperation from the DPK, which holds the majority in the Assembly.
"Opening up the door to bipartisan governance and providing a starting point for the restoration of politics that can overcome the crisis must be premised on a sincere apology from the president," Park said, adding, "Indiscriminate investigations and suppression of the opposition cannot serve to secure an impotent state or restore public sentiment."
 |
| Democratic Party of Korea floor leader Rep. Park Hong-keun speaks during a press conference at the National Assembly in Seoul, Sunday. Joint Press Corps |
Park's remarks came after the prosecution recently arrested or indicted DPK Chairman Lee's close aides on a series of charges associated with the land development scandal, including one that Lee accepted illegal sources of political funding during the past presidential election. The DPK has been claiming that the prosecution's moves are "political suppression" led by Yoon, who was the former prosecutor general and had a long career as a prosecutor before running for president.
In a separate press conference, Rep. Cho Jeong-sik, secretary of general of the DPK, also urged President Yoon to accept Chairman Lee's call for a special counsel probe on the Seongnam land development scandal before the president's planned speech.
A special counsel probe refers to investigations by an independent counsel ― called a special prosecutor ― for cases involving high-ranking officials. To appoint this counsel, the Assembly either uses the existing Act on the Appointment of Independent Prosecutor or can legislate a special bill on the respective case.
When using the existing law, a seven-member committee is formed to recommend two special prosecutor candidates, and the president choses the special prosecutor. The rival parties each can appoint two people to the committee, while the vice minister of justice and vice minister of national court administration will each claim a seat, meaning the ruling bloc can have four members under its influence.
Due to these rules, the DPK is seeking to legislate a special bill to appoint an independent counsel for the land development scandal, which allows the Korean Bar Association to recommend four candidates and each party to choose one. However, the ruling People Power Party (PPP) is refusing to recommend one, saying there is no need to employ a special prosecutor because the prosecution's investigation is picking up speed.
"The Yoon administration is obsessed with taking down Chairman Lee and suppressing the DPK, while turning a blind eye to the public livelihood, cooperative governance and the economy," Cho said.
The DPK's resistance came after Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp., started to speak about the land development scandal, hinting that it might involve Lee. The company was in charge of the 2015 development project, which developed the Daejang-dong area in the city into apartment complexes. DPK Chairman Lee, who was the city's mayor at the time, has been the subject of suspicions that he received personal benefits from the project.
Yoo, who was released from custody last week, told prosecutors that he delivered 847 million won in funds from the Seongnam land development to Kim Yong, vice president of the DPK think tank, Institute of Democracy, and one of the closest aides to the DPK chairman, from April to August last year.
During an interview with local daily Hankook Ilbo, Yoo was asked, "Did Chairman Lee know all about this?" to which he responded "How could he not know?"
Also, he argued that Lee's recent comment that he did not receive "a penny of illegal political funds" is a lie, adding, "I will tell everything to the prosecutors."
 |
| Yoo Dong-gyu, former acting president of Seongnam Development Corp. and one of the key figures in the Daejang-dong development project investigation in Seongnam, leaves the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul, Friday, after attending a hearing on the case. |
Prosecutors also arrested Kim Yong on Saturday on charges of receiving illegal political funds for the presidential election in March, as a local court ruled that there were fair reasons that Kim could conceal or destroy articles of evidence.
The DPK cried foul over the arrest, saying, "Lee has never received any illegal sources of political funds," and demanded a special counsel probe into land development scandal. The DPK floor leader raised suspicions that there could have been a plea bargain, which is not officially recognized in Korean law, between Yoo and the prosecution.
"Kim's arrest is nothing more than the winner of the presidential election persecuting the loser in the name of illegality," DPK spokesperson Rep. Park Sung-joon said. "Also it is a political trick to distract from the public criticism of President Yoon."
Though the DPK is going all-out to protect its leader, some lawmakers of anti-Lee factions have expressed doubts and are stressing the legal gravity that the party has to endure for protecting Lee.
During a radio interview, Oct. 20, DPK Rep. Sul Hoon said he had recommended that Chairman Lee not run for the party chairmanship in August, adding, "We should prevent individual risks from spilling over onto the entire party."
Sul also said he "does not 100-percent believe" that Lee's aide, Kim, is innocent, saying it is necessary to watch how the situation unfolds.
Former DPK lawmaker Kim Hae-young wrote on Facebook Saturday, "Chairman Lee, that's enough," and, "It is time for you to step down from the stage of history."
The PPP in particular has increased its offensives, saying that it has no intention to accept the main opposition party's call for a special counsel probe.
"The Institute of Democracy Vice President Kim was arrested and Yoo is now revealing that DPK Chairman Lee is at the center of the land development scandal, meaning we are finally about to see the truth," PPP spokesperson Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok said. "As we see the onion's layers are all peeled off, why do we need a special counsel probe now?"
友情鏈接：
