[Anchor]
Acting President Choi Sang-mok held a meeting with the cabinet members today (the 4th) to gather opinions on the appointment of constitutional court justice nominee Ma Eun-hyeok. Meanwhile, both the ruling and opposition parties are increasing pressure on Acting President Choi.
Let’s connect with our reporter for more details.
[Reporter]
Yes, this is the National Assembly.
The ruling and opposition parties have opposing views on the appointment of nominee Ma. The Democratic Party is pressing Acting President Choi to appoint nominee Ma, even criticizing him as a ‘coup accomplice.’
Democratic Party Floor Leader Park Chan-dae stated in a morning meeting regarding the cabinet meeting, “There’s no need for discussion; he should be appointed immediately.”
Park criticized, saying, “Acting President Choi, who should be putting an end to turmoil and normalizing state affairs, is contributing to the destruction of constitutional order,” and added, “Choi’s duty is to normalize state affairs, not to act as a coup accomplice.”
The People Power Party continuously urged Acting President Choi not to appoint nominee Ma.
Representative Park Soo-young has been on a hunger strike at the National Assembly for three days, opposing the appointment.
People Power Party Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong criticized the Democratic Party for refusing to participate in legislative-government consultations over the appointment issue.
Kwon said, “Does the Democratic Party prioritize nominee Ma’s appointment over the hardships of the working class and vulnerable groups?” expressing deep regret.
There were also ongoing attacks targeting each other’s ‘judicial risks.’
Kwon publicly urged that the final ruling on Democratic Party Representative Lee Jae-myung’s Public Official Election Act should be made by June 26 under the ‘6-3-3 provision’—six months for the first trial, three months for the second, and three months for the third.
He added that if Representative Lee is confident, he should declare, “I will face all ongoing trials with confidence even if elected president.”
The Democratic Party pressured the Constitutional Court for the impeachment ruling of President Yoon Suk-yeol to be announced before March 13, allowing an early presidential election and by-election on the same day.
Jin Sung-joon, the policy committee chair, stated that if the by-elections and early presidential election are held on the same day, it would save 36.7 billion won in taxes, emphasizing that an early ruling could reduce by-election costs.
[Anchor]
The aftermath of Democratic Party Leader Lee Jae-myung’s ‘K-NVIDIA’ remark continues, right?
[Reporter]
Yes, that’s correct.
Leader Lee’s comment on February 2 suggested that if a company like NVIDIA were established in Korea and 30% of its shares were distributed to the public, there would be no need to rely on taxes. This sparked debate.
The People Power Party criticized it as a ‘remark lacking understanding of the corporate ecosystem,’ and in response, Leader Lee countered on social media today, arguing that not understanding the future brought by AI is an issue. “Not understanding Korean well, how can you take responsibility for South Korea with such intellectual capacity?” he challenged.
He further criticized by saying, “I’m concerned about the level of insights that seem almost illiterate alongside their extreme right-wing nature.”
The People Power Party didn’t back down.
Floor Leader Kwon Seong-dong criticized Leader Lee, who advocated for a supplementary budget for AI corporate growth and claimed that a company like NVIDIA should distribute 30% of its shares to the public, stating, “Saying nothing but lies and contradictions is not an exaggeration.”
Other potential figures within the ruling party also participated in the criticism. Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon called it a “socialist idea,” and former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min described it as a “science fiction-like story.”
This has been reported from the National Assembly.
(In-field connection Junhyung)
For inquiries and reports on Yonhap News TV articles, contact us via KakaoTalk/LINE: jebo23.