Ruling Party Signals Move to Bring "Special Prosecutor Act on Fabricated Indictments" to Plenary Session... Opposition Senior Lawmakers Protest at Speaker's Office

Visited the National Assembly speaker's office in protest ahead of the plenary session on the 5th

On the 5th, senior People Power Party lawmakers visited the National Assembly speaker's office in protest against the ruling party's plan to bring the "Special Prosecutor Act on Fabricated Indictments" to a plenary session. They argued that bringing a contentious bill to a plenary session without an agreement between the ruling and opposition parties goes against the principles of parliamentary democracy and cooperation.

Senior lawmakers, including People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik, visit the National Assembly speaker's office in protest on the 5th. Photo courtesy of Yonhap News.

That morning, senior lawmakers including People Power Party floor leader Jeong Jeomsik and senior policy chief Kim Mi-ae, as well as lawmakers Kim Ki-hyun, Kim Do-eup, Kim Sang-hoon, Park Deok-heum, Ahn Cheol-soo, Yoon Sang-hyun, Yoon Jae-ok, Lee Jong-bae and Cho Bae-sook, visited the speaker's office.

They entered the office at around 10:50 a.m. and met with the National Assembly speaker for about 15 minutes. Before the meeting, the senior lawmakers also gathered in the floor leader's office to discuss how to oppose the bill's introduction.

After the meeting, Floor Leader Jeong told reporters, "I stressed that the speaker should be a staunch parliamentarian. I also made the pointed remarks that he was running the National Assembly on orders from the Blue House, and that cooperation between the ruling and opposition parties had actually regressed compared with the previous speaker's tenure."

He added, "There was also a strong request to put only items agreed upon by the ruling and opposition parties on today's plenary session agenda, but the speaker made no particular comment."

The Democratic Party of Korea is expected to convene a plenary session this afternoon and push ahead with bringing the Special Prosecutor Act on Fabricated Indictments to the floor. The People Power Party strongly opposes the bill, calling it effectively an "Indictment Cancellation Act" intended to drop charges in cases related to President Lee Jae-myung.

The People Power Party plans to counter the bill if it is brought to the plenary session, using all available parliamentary procedures, including a filibuster. Ahead of the session, the party held a lawmakers' meeting to discuss its response to the special prosecutor bill and the party's position. Chief Spokesperson Choi Bo-yoon said, "A contradictory situation is unfolding: on the day a legislative fair is being held outside the National Assembly, we have no choice but to hold a filibuster inside it." She added, "We are also considering options such as holding an outdoor protest in front of the National Assembly."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.