The Democratic Party of Korea labeled as a "conspiracy theory" the allegation of a transaction between restoring the prosecution's supplementary investigation authority and canceling the indictment in President Lee Jae-myung's case, and decided to respond strongly. In particular, with the People Power Party pushing the so-called "indictment cancellation transaction theory" and even raising impeachment, some say a party-level response is necessary.
Jung Chung-rae, the Democratic Party leader, said at a general meeting of lawmakers at the National Assembly on the afternoon of the 12th, "Right now, out of the blue, the indictment cancellation transaction theory is running rampant," adding, "On this, I want to say the party will marshal every possible means to respond forcefully."
Floor spokesperson Kim Hyun-jung told reporters after the general meeting, "There was an opinion that we must respond strongly under a zero-tolerance principle regarding the indictment cancellation conspiracy theory aired on Mr. Kim Ou-joon's program."
She added, "Due to a groundless conspiracy theory, the People Power Party is talking about a special counsel (special prosecutor) and even impeachment of the president, and there was an opinion that the party should respond with strong measures," and said, "We will consider all actions, including the Press Arbitration Commission, the Korea Communications Standards Commission, and legal complaints."
Earlier, on Kim Ou-joon's YouTube channel, a guest who is a former reporter raised a "transaction theory" to the effect that "the presidential office and the government decided to cancel the indictment in the president's case in exchange for partially preserving the Public Prosecution Service's supplementary investigation authority."
Within the Democratic Party, there was an outburst of anger over the transaction theory raised on Mr. Kim's program. Han Jeong-ae, the Democratic Party's policy committee chair, said on Facebook the previous day, "I am boiling with anger because it presupposes the most extreme interpretation of direct presidential involvement," and Rep. Han Jun-ho of the same party also said the previous day, "A broadcast dredged up a groundless conspiracy theory that is worse than marketplace gossip to attack the Lee Jae-myung administration."
Jung Sung-ho, the Minister of Justice, also told reporters in front of the Government Complex Gwacheon the previous day, "Beyond saying it is baffling and absurd, it is not appropriate to describe it further. It is not even worth discussing," adding, "I hope there will be no situation where truly important discussions on prosecution reform go awry and veer off in the wrong direction because of this."