Rep. Chu Kyung-ho of the People Power Party sits with a serious expression during a party assembly held at the National Assembly on the 4th. Photo by Han Soo-bin.
The National Assembly will report the motion for the arrest of Chu Kyung-ho, the former floor leader of the People Power Party, on the 13th. He faces charges related to hindering the National Assembly’s vote to lift martial law during the illegal martial law declaration on December 3.
Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho plans to report the arrest motion for Rep. Chu at a National Assembly plenary session at 2 p.m. on the same day. The vote on the motion will be held during the plenary session on the 27th, as agreed by the ruling and opposition parties.
Rep. Chu is accused of disrupting the vote to lift martial law by repeatedly changing the location of the People Power Party’s assembly, following a request from the then-president Yoon Suk-yeol. Jo Eun-seok, the special prosecutor for the rebellion, applied for an arrest warrant on the 3rd for charges of participating in an important mission related to the rebellion, and the Ministry of Justice submitted the request for consent to the National Assembly on the 5th.
As Rep. Chu is a sitting member of the National Assembly, which grants him the privilege of immunity from arrest, the motion must be passed by the plenary session for the court to hold a pre-arrest investigation review.
The motion passes if a majority of the attending lawmakers agree, with more than half of the total lawmakers present. Given the current distribution of seats, with the Democratic Party holding 166 seats, the National Innovation Party with 12 seats, and the Progressive Party with 4 seats, it is expected that the motion will be approved.
The Democratic Party is using the investigation of People Power Party members involved in the illegal martial law as an opportunity to mention the possibility of a constitutional court review for the disbandment of the party. Democratic Party leader Jeong Chung-rae stated at the party’s supreme council meeting that if the allegations are true, former floor leader Chu would be an accomplice to rebellion, and the People Power Party would be an unconstitutional party subject to dissolution.
Ahead of the vote on the 27th, the People Power Party plans to escalate its offensive against the ruling party by highlighting the controversy over the prosecution’s decision not to appeal the Daejang-dong case. Some speculate that the chances of Rep. Chu’s arrest being sanctioned are low, citing the recent refusal of arrest warrants for former Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and former Justice Minister Park Sung-jae.
Meanwhile, about 50 non-controversial livelihood bills, on which there is no disagreement between the ruling and opposition parties, will also be introduced in the plenary session. These include the Development of Living Logistics Services Act to protect the safety and employment of delivery workers exposed to the risk of overwork; the Basic Housing Act to support people suffering in substandard housing conditions such as semi-basements; the Promotion of Cooperation between Large and Small Companies Act, which includes linking energy costs to supply prices and strengthening dispute resolution; and the Automobile Management Act to prevent electric vehicle fires.