Criticism of “the president is acting like trash that can’t be recycled”… Representatives close to the group did not attend.
(Seoul, Busan = Yonhap News) Reporters Park Soo-yoon and Son Hyeong-ju = The People Power Party held a large-scale outdoor rally in Busan on the 14th to condemn the so-called 'Special Prosecution Act on Manipulated Prosecutions' and repeatedly demanded that President Lee Jae-myung exercise his veto.
Following the start of an off-site rally in front of Seoul's Gyeongbokgung Station a week ago, they began to rally opposition in Busan, where conservative support is strong, ahead of the proposal being submitted to the Cabinet meeting next week.
The People Power Party held a 'National Rally to Condemn the Implementation of Lee Jae-myung's Prison Escape Act' at the Busan Station Square this afternoon.
About 30 lawmakers, including Representative Jang Dong-hyuk and floor leader Jeong Jeong-sik, as well as chairmen of the party council outside the National Assembly attended.
A party official said that 10,000 people attended, including general supporters. Busan police provisionally calculated that about 1,000 people attended.
At the event held in the rain, attendees held signs that read, "The special prosecution law to cancel the trial is Lee Jae-myung's prison escape law, which is 100% unconstitutional," "It is the people's order to resume Lee Jae-myung's trial," and "Special prosecution Lee Jae-myung's prison escape project for 38 billion taxpayers' money."
Representative Jang said about the special prosecution law on manipulation of prosecutions, "It is a law for one criminal, Lee Jae-myung. Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party are destroying the Constitution with the power granted by the Constitution," and shouted, "Shouldn't we take away the power of Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party so that they can no longer attack the people and destroy the Constitution?"
He then said, “Busan is the temporary capital of protecting the Constitution of the Republic of Korea and the wartime headquarters for protecting the rule of law,” and added, “Resume Lee Jae-myung’s trial immediately. Lee Jae-myung must come down.”
Floor leader Jeong Jeong-sik said, "The Special Prosecutor's Office Act is nothing more than a pollutant that contaminates the constitutional order, born from a pile of unconstitutional and illegal trash," and raised his voice, "In particular, this special prosecutor's office used the criminal procedure law of the past, which has already disappeared, as its basis. How is a special prosecutor based on a dead law possible? A zombie special prosecutor."
He also said, "It is said that the Prime Minister will decide on the decision when the President goes on an overseas trip next week. Even the jailbreak will be done on the back of the Prime Minister and the Democratic Party. It is a cowardly and cunning act," he said, adding, "I warn Prime Minister Han Seong-sook. The moment the Prime Minister decides on the jailbreak law instead of the President, he will become an accomplice in the jailbreak, and will be stigmatized as a collaborator of Lee Jae-myung for the rest of his life, and there will be no way to avoid the judgment of the law."
Also attending the rally were five-term lawmakers Na Kyung-won and Kim Ki-hyun, who are mentioned as potential next party candidates.
Rep. Na said, “Prime Minister Han Seong-sook and the State Council members should never (pass the promulgation bill). You too will go to jail.”
Rep. Kim shouted, “President Lee Jae-myung is acting like trash that cannot be recycled, and they say he has three and a half years left, but that is too long. We must end the Lee Jae-myung administration by next spring.”
However, among the 17 People Power Party lawmakers with constituencies in Busan, three, including close (pro-Han Dong-hoon) lawmakers Jeong Seong-guk and Jeong Yeon-wook, and six-term lawmaker Cho Kyung-tae, who is in conflict with Representative Jang over the ethics committee disciplinary issue, did not attend the rally.
Additionally, some attendees booed floor leader Jeong Jeong-sik, saying, "Come down," during his speech, causing the speech to be briefly interrupted.
The People Power Party plans to continue the public opinion campaign by touring key cities across the country, including Daegu on the 21st, Daejeon on the 27th, and Seoul early next month.
In response to this, Supreme Council member Yang Hyang-ja, from Honam, criticized in a Facebook post, "Honam is not in the announced schedule. I ask Representative Jang. Where did the promise to go to Honam every month go?"
Meanwhile, CEO Jang also attended the 'Yeowon Mountaineering Club 18th Anniversary Ceremony' held at the Hapcheon Multipurpose Gymnasium in Gyeongsangnam-do prior to the Busan Station rally.
The Yeowon Mountaineering Club is a support organization outside the Busan area of the late former lawmaker Jang Je-won, who was a key member of the pro-Yoon (pro-Yoon Seok-yeol) group, and is known to be in close communication with lawmaker Kim Dae-sik, head of Representative Jang's special adviser.
