Six PPP lawmakers convicted over 2019 parliamentary standoff

Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party arrives at the Seoul Southern District Court in Yangcheon District, Thursday for her first-instance sentencing hearing on charges of illegally trying to block a bill from being scheduled at the National Assembly in 2019. Yonhap

Six lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) were convicted Thursday of illegally attempting to block a bill from being brought forward in the National Assembly in 2019. The ruling adds to pressures on the conservative party, which has struggled to regain footing since former President Yoon Suk Yeol declared martial law last December.

The Seoul Southern District Court fined PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog 11.5 million won ($7,830) and Rep. Na Kyung-won 24 million won. Former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, a former member of the Liberty Korea Party (LKP), the PPP’s predecessor, was fined 19 million won.

The other convicted lawmakers — Rep. Kim Jung-jae, Rep. Lee Man-hee, Rep. Yoon Han-hong and Rep. Lee Chul-gyu — all received fines exceeding 5 million won.

In 2019, the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and three opposition parties — the Bareunmirae Party, the Party for Democracy and Peace, and the Justice Party — reached a tentative agreement to fast-track a series of reform bills.

The package included electoral system reforms, the launch of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and changes to the division of investigative powers between the police and prosecutors.

To block the bills from being tabled, LKP lawmakers and staff occupied committee rooms and kept then-Rep. Chae Yi-bae of the Bareunmirae Party in his office for six hours to stop him from attending a committee meeting.

Prosecutors indicted those involved the following year. Under the law, lawmakers lose their seats if they receive a prison sentence in a criminal case or are fined 5 million won or more for violating the National Assembly Advancement Act.

All six lawmakers will keep their seats after the court separated the charges of obstructing special public duties and violating the Assembly law, concluding that the violation alone did not justify removal.

The court said that the 2019 parliamentary standoff was neither covered by lawmakers’ immunity nor justified as an act of resistance.

“The incident undeniably damaged public trust in the National Assembly, regardless of the merits of the fast-track bills at the center of the dispute,” It added. “Lawmakers, who above all are bound to uphold the Constitution and the law, used illegal means to block colleagues from performing their legislative duties.”

Pressure on the PPP is likely to continue as lawmakers vote next Thursday on an arrest motion for the party’s former floor leader, Choo Kyung-ho, over allegations that he interfered with last December’s vote to lift martial law.

Meanwhile, 10 former and sitting DPK lawmakers and party staff are on trial for allegedly assaulting LKP staff during the standoff. A final hearing is scheduled for next Friday, and a first-instance verdict could come by the end of this year or early next year.