National Power Legislative and Judiciary Committee boycotts budget review... “People’s livelihoods are held hostage by the Special Prosecution Act on Manipulated Prosecutions” (comprehensive)

National Power: “The rule of law has been shaken to its core”… Democratic Party: “Legislative and Judiciary Committee budget is not up for negotiation”

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Kim Nam-kwon, Kim Yeon-jeong, and Kwon Hee-won = People Power Party lawmakers belonging to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly declared a 'boycott of the budget review', saying they would not participate in future Legislation and Judiciary Committee schedules, including the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's Budget Settlement Review Subcommittee held on the 9th.

People Power Party legislative committee members, including Rep. Park Hyeong-soo, the opposition party's secretary on the Legislative and Judiciary Committee, said at a press conference at the communication center that day, "My conscience as a member of the National Assembly does not allow me to sit and review the budget with the Democratic Party's judicial committee members who destroyed the rule of law by forcefully enforcing the special prosecution bill for fabricated prosecutions."

They said, "Budget review is an important responsibility of the National Assembly to ensure that even a single penny of the people's tax money is not wasted, and our members of the Legislative and Judiciary Committee consider that responsibility more seriously than anyone else."

He continued, "The Democratic Party pushed for the 'Special Prosecutor Cancellation Act' to eliminate President Lee's trial by forcibly ending the opposition party's filibuster through a vote in just three days, including adopting the party line on the 3rd, unilaterally voting it in the Legislative and Judiciary Committee on the 4th, and passing it in the plenary session on the 6th," and criticized, "It is a direct violation of the constitutional principle of 'equality before the law' for the special prosecutor to create a justification for canceling the indictment and get away with the crime without a trial just because he is the president."

They emphasized, "Now that this law has been passed, we, the minority party, do not have many means to resist. All that is left is to resist in whatever way we can within the National Assembly," and added, "Our non-participation in the budget review is precisely that resistance and part of the struggle."

He urged, “If the special prosecution bill is submitted to the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, President Lee must exercise his right to request reconsideration.”

Representative Park met with reporters after the conference and said about future response plans regarding the Special Prosecutor's Office on Manipulated Prosecution Act, "We are reviewing the schedule for future struggles, including adjudication (application for recommendation) of the unconstitutionality of the law."

In response to this, the Democratic Party's Legislative Committee issued a statement criticizing the refusal to review the budget, saying, "The refusal to review the budget is a 'bulletproof political prosecutor's take of the people's livelihood hostage' without justification or conscience."

They emphasized, “Do not hold the people’s livelihood hostage by making unreasonable claims about the Special Prosecutor’s Office on Manipulated Indictments Act,” and added, “The clause inferring cancellation of indictment and the right to request transfer have already been deleted.”

He then said, “This is a typical red-light campaign that halts the people’s livelihood budget to prevent the prosecution from revealing the truth about targeted investigations and fabricated prosecutions,” and asked, “Is it the responsibility of the National Assembly to use non-existent provisions as an excuse to abandon the budget review of crime victims and vulnerable groups and go out of business?”

He then pointed out, “Does the political party that carried out illegal martial law dare to talk about ‘the rule of law’?” and “The fact that the People Power Party brings up the rule of law and impeachment itself is a tragedy and a comedy in constitutional history.”

They also said, “The budget plan under the jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee is not a matter of negotiation,” and “It is a social safety net and minimum judicial welfare that will lead judicial administration and resolve the injustice of the people, such as protection of crime victims and free legal aid.”

He added, “The Democratic Party Legislative and Judiciary Committee members will not be swayed even an inch by the People Power Party’s wasteful and deterrent offensive,” and added, “We will review the 2027 budget to the end and process it within the legal deadline to protect the lives of the people.”