Despite Freezing Temperatures Around 0°C, PPP Holds On-Site Caucus Meeting in Front of Cheong Wa Dae... All-Out Campaign to Block Special Counsel Bill

Outdoor Rallies and Relay Protests Ahead of the November 17 Cabinet Meeting
Boycotting the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, but Participating in the Budget Committee
Some within the Party Call for a Full Boycott too

Despite temperatures hovering around freezing on November 10, the People Power Party held an on-site parliamentary caucus meeting in front of Cheong Wa Dae and launched a public opinion campaign to block the “Special Counsel Act on Fabricated Indictments.” It is stepping up its fight against the ruling camp, using every available means, including outdoor rallies, boycotts of parliamentary proceedings, and legal action.

At the meeting in front of Cheong Wa Dae that day, the People Power Party argued that the Special Counsel Act on Fabricated Indictments was unconstitutional and urged the president to exercise his veto. Floor leader Jung Jeomsik criticized the president, saying, “President Lee Jae-myung ultimately entrusted the cancellation of the indictment to Lee Yong-cheol, his friend of 20 years in the Seongnam cartel,” and called it “Lee Jae-myung’s prison-break project to use every method and means to make his trial disappear.”

Jeong Jeom-sik, floor leader of the People Power Party, speaks at an on-site lawmakers' meeting held in front of Cheongwadae Sarangchae on the 10th. Provided by Yonhap News Agency.

That day, the People Power Party delivered a petition to Cheong Wa Dae demanding the withdrawal of the Special Counsel Act and is also considering legal action, including filing a constitutional complaint. With the bill’s submission to a Cabinet meeting postponed until November 17, the party plans to focus its public opinion campaign through that date.

After holding a rally in front of the National Assembly on November 6, the People Power Party held an outdoor rally near Gyeongbokgung Station in Seoul on November 7. On November 9, it held an on-site Supreme Council meeting in front of Cheong Wa Dae and began a series of one-person protests. It plans to continue its campaign with regional outdoor rallies, one-person protests in individual constituencies, and an unlimited debate, or filibuster, at a plenary session of the National Assembly.

Within the National Assembly, the party is pursuing a strategy of “selective boycotts.” People Power Party lawmakers on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee decided to skip future committee proceedings, starting with the Budget and Settlement Fund Review Subcommittee meeting on November 9. However, the party is participating as usual in deliberations by the Special Committee on Budget and Accounts, combining its review of the budget bill with its fight against the ruling camp. A clash between the ruling and opposition parties is also expected at the plenary session anticipated around November 12, over issues including the Act on Persons of Merit for Democracy.

Some within the party, however, have voiced concerns about the effectiveness of outdoor protests. Speaking on MBC Radio’s “Kim Jong-bae’s Focus” on November 10, lawmaker Park Jeong-ha said, “With the party leadership’s messaging power already greatly weakened, I question whether this half-hearted response will be effective.” He argued that the party should take stronger action against the ruling camp, such as a full boycott of National Assembly proceedings.

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