17 votes from the People Power Party needed with 295 attendance
4 members from the People Power Party publicly in favor so far,
Participants shouting slogans at the nationwide rally condemning and urging the passage of the special prosecutor’s law for investigating the truth behind the death of Marine Corps Pvt. Cha in front of Seoul Station on the afternoon of the 25th. Yonhap News,
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, Two days before the National Assembly’s re-vote on the “Cha Marine Special Prosecutor Law” on the 26th, the Democratic Party held a press conference urging the People Power Party to pass it with their last conscience. Meanwhile, within the People Power Party that is intensifying efforts to prevent defection, Representative Choi Jaehyeong expressed his support for the special prosecutor’s law, increasing the number of supporting members within the party to four.
The Democratic Party’s “Marine Corps Death Incident Truth Investigation Task Force (TF)” held a press conference at the National Assembly on this day and refuted all four reasons given by the Ministry of Justice for requesting a re-deliberation of the Cha Marine Special Prosecutor Law, calling them all “false.” Chairman Park Jumin stated, “It is a situation where government agencies announce positions different from the truth and provide false justifications using the trust of public institutions,” and announced, “We will take legal action against the Ministry of Justice.”
TF’s Representative Park Sanghyeok fact-checked the government’s claims and appealed, “We ask that the People Power Party lawmakers pass the Cha Marine Special Prosecutor Law with their last conscience in the vote to take place the day after tomorrow.”
Earlier on the 25th, seven opposition parties (Democratic Party, Justice Party, New Progressive Party, Progressive Party, Basic Income Party, New Future Party, Social Democratic Party) and civil society groups gathered at Sejong-daero in front of Seoul Station to hold a ‘Nationwide Rally to Condemn and Urge Passage of the Cha Marine Special Prosecutor Law,’ engaging in a large-scale public opinion battle. At the event, Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung stated, “If they cannot come to their senses through the vote, fail to reflect on their actions, and resist history and the people, now we must suppress them with people’s power and make them surrender.” Justice Party leader Cho Guk also raised the pressure by implying impeachment, saying, “If People Power Party lawmakers do not cast their votes in favor of the Cha Marine Special Prosecutor Law at the last plenary session of the 21st National Assembly, they will face a repeat of what happened eight years ago.”
In this context, People Power Party lawmaker Choi Jaehyeong expressed his support for the Cha Marine Special Prosecutor Law, saying, “It is correct to say that we cannot accept the special prosecutor law due to the toxic clause, but it seems insufficient to convince the public with logic.” As a result, the number of People Power Party members in favor of the special prosecutor law has increased to four with lawmakers Kim Woong, Ahn Cheol-soo, and Yoo Eui-dong joining.
Regarding this matter, Representative Park claimed, “Apart from the individual who publicly expressed support from People Power Party, I met with about six people, around half of whom seriously said they would consider casting their votes in favor.” A People Power Party lawmaker who failed to enter the 22nd National Assembly told Hankyoreh on this day, “I am seriously considering whether to attend the vote and whether to cast my vote in favor.”
If Park’s claim is correct, it is estimated that there are about seven defection votes in the People Power Party. For the Cha Marine Special Prosecutor Law to be re-voted on at the plenary session on the 28th, in addition to the opposition and independents (180 members), 17 members from the People Power Party must vote in favor if all 295 members, excluding detained lawmaker Yoon Gwan-seok, attend. People Power Party floor leader Choe Kyung-ho said at a press conference on this day, “We will have separate discussions on why we should not handle it this way during the remaining period before the plenary session” and stated, “The attendance and opinions of lawmakers have been generally proceeding within the expected range without major defections.”