As People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok continues a hunger strike for a fifth day, consolidation within the conservative bloc is accelerating. The People Power Party on the 19th pressed a full-on offensive against the ruling camp, urging acceptance of dual special counsels over the Unification Church gate and candidate nomination bribery allegations.
After holding a closed-door general meeting of lawmakers at the National Assembly that afternoon, the People Power Party held a rally of condemnation in the Rotunda Hall, where leader Jang is staging his hunger strike. There, People Power Party lawmakers, constituency chapter heads outside the Assembly, and party members held placards reading "Accept a special counsel on the Unification Church" and "Accept a special counsel on nomination bribery," speaking with one voice.
Floor leader Song Eon-seog said, "Leader Jang is continuing a hunger strike, risking his life in the middle of the National Assembly. This is not a commute-time hunger strike like Lee Jae-myung. It is not a hunger strike where you can smoke while claiming 20 days like Jung Chung-rae," adding, "It is, literally, a complete hunger strike relying only on water and salt."
He said, "How desperate must an opposition leader be to cut off food and go on a hunger strike. The dual special counsels have already become the target of public criticism, so why refuse and evade accepting them?" He emphasized, "In the face of power that smothers the truth, the leader of the main opposition party is looking only to the people and crying out in anguish."
He continued, "We once again sternly demand of President Lee Jae-myung and the Democratic Party of Korea: accept, without delay, the special counsel on the Unification Church gate and the special counsel on the Democratic Party's nomination bribery—the dual special counsels," adding, "Do not play blind with Kim Byung-kee's defection show and Kang Sun-woo's expulsion show; we want you to immediately accept a special counsel to uncover the truth."
Regarding the confirmation hearing for Minister of Planning and Budget nominee Lee Hye-hoon, he argued, "The place the nominee should be standing is not the hearing room but an investigative agency," and said, "If President Lee has even a shred of conscience left, he should stop the stubbornness that stresses out the public and immediately withdraw the nominee's designation."
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun criticized, "The Democratic Party forced through a second comprehensive special counsel, yet it refuses special counsels on the Unification Church gate and the nomination bribery allegations," adding, "Insisting that there is no answer but a special counsel when it comes to investigations targeting political rivals, while saying to wait for police investigations on matters unfavorable to itself—this is the Democratic Party's style of 'if it's me it's okay, if it's others it's not' and selective justice."
He went on, "If the Democratic Party truly wants to talk about law, justice, and fairness, it must accept a special counsel with the same yardstick regarding suspicions in its own camp," adding, "If it does not accept a special counsel, the special counsel the Democratic Party talks about is not a special counsel for justice but merely a shield protecting the Democratic Party's power."
Rep. Sung Il-jong said, "Both fairness and justice have collapsed. In this situation, what else can the opposition demand other than a special counsel?" He added, "How desperate must Leader Jang be to fast with daily prayers and tears to inform the public. It is because there is no way to save this country."
Rep. Lim Lee-ja emphasized, "Leader Jang's hunger strike is the desperate cry of the people demanding truth against rotten power and lies," adding, "We denounce the power that is evading the dual special counsels and will fight together until the truth comes out."