PPP leaders gather outside Cheong Wa Dae to protest special counsel bill
Summary
People Power Party leaders gathered outside Cheong Wa Dae on Monday to protest a bill passed by the National Assembly on Friday calling for a special counsel investigation into alleged fabricated indictments against President Lee Jae Myung and others. The PPP says the measure is intended to cancel Lee’s indictments, while the bill calls for an investigation into allegations that prosecutors under former President Yoon Suk Yeol fabricated evidence or induced false testimony. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok warned of public judgment, including possible impeachment, if the bill is approved. The party also scheduled further protests and a lawmakers’ meeting outside the presidential office for Tuesday.
Key Facts
- The PPP held a Supreme Council meeting outside the presidential office after the ruling Democratic Party of Korea passed the bill during a National Assembly plenary session on Friday.
- Lee faces charges related to alleged corrupt development schemes, illegal remittances to North Korea and misuse of a government charge card during his time as Seongnam mayor or Gyeonggi Province governor.
- Jang said the bill was expected to be approved at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting.
- The PPP held a rally outside the National Assembly on Friday and a large outdoor rally near Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul on Saturday.
- Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, the PPP floor leader, began a scheduled relay of one-person protests outside Cheong Wa Dae on Monday.
People Power Party (PPP) leader Jang Dong-hyeok, center, leads a protest outside Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap
Leaders of the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) gathered outside Cheong Wa Dae on Monday to protest the recent passage of a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into alleged fabricated indictments targeting President Lee Jae Myung and others.
The PPP leadership held a Supreme Council meeting outside the presidential office, after the ruling Democratic Party of Korea railroaded the bill through a plenary session of the National Assembly on Friday.
The legislation calls for appointing an independent counsel to investigate suspicions the prosecution under former President Yoon Suk Yeol fabricated evidence or induced false testimonies to build cases against then opposition leader Lee and others.
The PPP has denounced the effort as a pretext to cancel all of Lee's indictments, as his trials have been suspended under an article of the Constitution that exempts a sitting president from criminal prosecution except in cases of insurrection or treason.
Lee faces charges of involvement in corrupt development schemes, illegal remittances to North Korea, and the misuse of a government charge card, stemming from his time as mayor of Seongnam or governor of Gyeonggi Province.
"Lee Jae Myung's 'prison break bill' has passed the National Assembly and arrived at Cheong Wa Dae," PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said during the meeting, suggesting it would be approved at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting. "The key to freeing prisoner Lee Jae Myung has been placed in prisoner Lee Jae Myung's hands."
Jang warned of judgment from the people should the bill be approved, including through possible impeachment.
The PPP's resistance to the bill has taken various forms, with a rally held Friday outside the National Assembly and a massive outdoor rally staged near Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul on Saturday.
A relay of one-person protests outside Cheong Wa Dae has been scheduled for Monday. Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, the party's floor leader, started it off as the first participant.
On Tuesday, the party has vowed to hold a general meeting of lawmakers outside the presidential office.
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