The Democratic Party of Korea and the People Power Party are continuously engaged in fierce debates over judicial reform. The People Power Party strongly opposed the Democratic Party's attempts to intervene in various trials and investigations through a legislative hearing. In response, the Democratic Party stated that this is a process to correct the prosecution's wrongful investigations, specifically criticizing Member of Parliament Na Kyung-won, who is embroiled in conflict over the appointment of a minority party secretary.
The Legislation and Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Bill Review held a 'Judicial Reform Legislative Hearing' on the 5th at the National Assembly. Previously, the ruling party summoned a total of 22 witnesses and references for the legislative hearing. Among them, only one witness was requested by the People Power Party. KH Group Chairman Bae Sang-yun, who was a witness, and Jeon Seong-bae, known as 'Geonjin Beopsa,' submitted documents citing the reasons for their non-attendance.
Na Kyung-won, a member of the People Power Party, criticized before entering her main questioning that holding a hearing on cases currently under investigation or inspection is essentially an intervention in trials and investigations. On that day, witnesses and references related to the following cases appeared: ▲ the case of Seoul City employee Yoo Woo-sung ▲ the opinion manipulation presidential election intervention case ▲ the SSANGBANGWOOL North Korean fund remittance case ▲ the Ulsan mayor election intervention suspicion case ▲ the missing Gangbangkwon belt case ▲ the case of former Gimhae mayor Kim Maeng-gon.
Na stated, 'Including all cases currently under investigation and inspection in the hearing is an attempt to influence trials and investigations under the pretense of holding a hearing,' and asked, 'Is this a call for investigation or for trial in the National Assembly? Especially, isn't the North Korean remittance case related to President Lee Jae-myung?'
She further pointed out, 'Isn't it an attempt to overturn the trial by calling witnesses and references related to this case? The National Assembly is now saying it will conduct trials and investigations under the guise of a legislative hearing for the dissolution of the prosecution.' She insisted that witnesses and references related to these cases should be excluded.
Na raised the issue, saying, 'I have an objection to the selection of witnesses and references. Today, out of the two witnesses and references summoned by our party, only one was accepted by the Democratic Party,' and added, 'The remaining 22 witnesses and references were called by the Democratic Party.'
Kim Yong-min, a Democratic Party member and the chairman of the subcommittee on bills, rebutted, 'It is possible for the National Assembly to discuss cases that are under investigation or trial. If it is not with the intent to interfere, it is completely possible.' He continued, 'The prosecution has done a lot of bad things, and the parties involved are suffering because nothing has been corrected until now. Why can't the National Assembly step in to hold hearings on cases where actions were taken and then escape?'
He added, 'You, too, have escaped to the Legislation and Judiciary Committee after causing issues, and we should not support the prosecution in its attempts to escape after causing its problems.' He stated that there are still issues raised about the entry of individuals who are under investigation or are targets of prosecution into the Legislation and Judiciary Committee.
In response, Na said, 'Is it permissible to make such outrageous remarks? You are saying they escaped after causing problems, which is like Nazi dictatorship,' and the members of the People Power Party left the meeting room after a heated exchange.