Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, claimed on the 16th that President Yoon Suk-yeol pushed for the declaration of a state of emergency on Dec. 3 in anticipation that Kim Keon-hee would be hit if the 'Myungtaekyun risk' escalated. Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, criticized it as a 'fantasy novel.'
On the same day, Park, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, asserted at a press briefing held at the National Assembly that 'Yoon Suk-yeol knew that if the golden phone of Myungtaekyun was made public, he and Kim Keon-hee would suffer fatal wounds, and he declared a state of emergency to prevent that.'
He continued, saying, 'To block the various recordings and evidence on the golden phone and prevent punishments for himself and Kim Keon-hee, he must have concluded that there was no choice but to purge the opposition, including Han Dong-hoon, and contemplate a permanent rule.'
Park, the floor leader, cited that after Myungtaekyun, a key figure in the 'nomination intervention allegations,' was arrested on Nov. 15 last year and indicated he would disclose the golden phone, preparations for the state of emergency began in earnest.
He further claimed that Kim Keon-hee might have been directly involved in the declaration of the state of emergency based on circumstances indicating that National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong exchanged text messages with her around the time of the declaration and the notebook of former Military Intelligence Command Chief Roh Sang-won, a key figure in the state of emergency.
Park, the floor leader, mentioned that the notebook of former Chief Roh contained phrases like 'constitutional amendment (from re-election to third term)', 'plans for a third term rule', and 'who is the successor?' and asserted that 'it can be seen that if the state of emergency succeeded, they planned to amend the constitution and laws for a third-term rule and named a successor to plot permanent rule.' He added, 'In fact, since some were executed during the state of emergency, it must not be considered a fanciful plan.'
He also argued that Kim Keon-hee's sending two text messages to the director of the National Intelligence Service the day before the state of emergency allows for the inference that 'Kim Keon-hee intervened extensively in state affairs and may have been involved in the preparation and execution of the state of emergency.'
Park asserted, 'It is impossible that Kim Keon-hee, who is the highest authority in this regime and stands to suffer the most from the disclosure of the golden phone, did not step forward,' and insisted that the investigation should clarify what text messages were exchanged with National Intelligence Service Director Cho Tae-yong, whether there were separate telephone calls, and if so, what conversations took place.
He emphasized that 'the Myungtaekyun gate investigation is key to revealing the motives behind the Dec. 3 state of emergency' and stressed that the 'Myungtaekyun special investigation law' should be passed to accelerate relevant investigations, as there have been no summons or searches regarding Kim Keon-hee from the Changwon District Prosecutor's Office investigating related incidents, leading to sluggish investigations.
Regarding the opposition to the Myungtaekyun special investigation law from the People Power Party, he stated, 'It is unacceptable to cover up the truth that the state of emergency was declared due to the Myungtaekyun gate.'
Park noted, 'The Myungtaekyun special investigation law is the only way to clearly unravel the relationship between the emergency and Myungtaekyun and Kim Keon-hee.' Park Sung-jun, the chief deputy floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated, 'Yoon and officials from the People Power Party oppose it because the connection between the rebellion special investigation and the Myungtaekyun special investigation is very high. Rather, the People Power Party should accept the special investigation while declaring its confidence.'
The Democratic Party plans to address the Myungtaekyun special investigation law at the National Assembly plenary session on the 27th. In the process, it indicated there might be room to formulate a consensus by partially accepting the ruling party's opinions. Park, the floor leader, said, 'I think there is still plenty of time since we are considering passage on the 27th,' and added, 'We will see if the People Power Party has any forward-looking opinions that differ from their previous behavior and that may be possible to reflect and modify if necessary.'
The People Power Party harshly criticized Park's claims as a 'fantasy novel.' Kweon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, remarked, 'He connected unrelated facts such as Roh Sang-won's notebook, the Myungtaekyun golden phone, and the feelings of Kim Bong-sik, the chief of the Seoul Police Agency, as if they were related, weaving together absurd stories,' and added, 'This is just a fanciful tale with contents that are not even included in the indictment that the Democratic Party presented to push for the special investigation law.' He remarked, 'As the effectiveness of the emergency and rebellion frames diminishes, now they are moving to the Myungtaekyun frame,' calling it 'a shallow tactic.'
Regarding the possibility of discussions on the 'Myungtaekyun special investigation law,' Park Soo-min, the spokesperson for the People Power Party, stated, 'I don't understand why a special investigation is necessary. We need to observe the investigation,' and criticized, 'Promoting the Myungtaekyun special investigation could cool down the political atmosphere again. Is this a proposal for cooperation, or is discussing this divisive?'
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party stated that it would consider when to re-vote on the 'rebellion special investigation law.' Park, the floor leader, said, 'The ruling on the impeachment of President Yoon is expected around early March,' and added, 'We have not set the timing for the re-vote after the impeachment ruling. We are reviewing an appropriate time politically.' This indicates that if the Constitutional Court's ruling on the impeachment is delayed beyond expectations, they could consider advancing the re-vote.