Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, said that in connection with the first-trial sentences of heavy prison terms for five key defendants in the Daejang-dong development corruption case, the trial of President Lee Jae-myung should resume. Calling the resumption of Lee's trial "the people's order," he urged the court to restart the proceedings quickly.
At the supreme council meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 3rd, Jang said, "The court handed down heavy sentences and took into custody in the courtroom all members of the group involved in the Daejang-dong development corruption," adding, "The court determined that the Daejang-dong development corruption was carried out with approval from the senior leadership of Seongnam City."
He went on, "As Gyeonggi governor, the president said confidently during a National Assembly audit that 'I am indeed the designer of the Daejang-dong project,'" stressing, "If the president acknowledged being the Daejang-dong designer and the court recognized that the Daejang-dong development corruption was carried out with approval from the senior leadership of Seongnam City, then the senior leadership ultimately was the president, who was the mayor of Seongnam at the time."
Jang also said, "I will keep it brief. We need to restart the trial even today. That is common sense, the rule of law, and the people's order," adding, "If the trial restarts even tomorrow, before the year is out he will no longer be the president but just Lee Jae-myung."
He added, "If the trial does not restart, the Democratic Party will ceaselessly insult the judiciary to drive out the chief justice," and, "They will create a crime of legal distortion to intimidate judges so they cannot convict the president. They will increase the number of Supreme Court justices to create a Supreme Court by Lee Jae-myung, for Lee Jae-myung, of Lee Jae-myung."
Jang also mentioned by full name the judges who decided to suspend the president's trial and urged self-reflection. He criticized the Democratic Party for naming the "trial suspension bill" as the "national stability bill" and suggesting it could be handled during the regular session.
Jang said, "This morning (on the 3rd), Park Soo-hyun, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, said, 'The People Power Party is calling daily for the resumption of five trials. What ruling party would leave this situation unattended?' In response, the people will answer, 'I told them to do it.'"