Opposition candidates running for metropolitan mayor and governor posts in Korea's capital region have launched a coalition to block the "fabricated indictment special counsel bill" being pushed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea. The candidates plan to mount a joint response, including a "nationwide online signature campaign" to stop the bill.
Five candidates — Cho Eung-chun, the Reform Party's candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor; Oh Se-hoon, People Power Party Seoul mayor; Yoo Jeong-bok, People Power Party Incheon mayor; Yang Hyang-ja, the People Power Party's candidate for Gyeonggi Province governor; and Kim Jung-chul, the Reform Party's candidate for Seoul mayor — held an emergency joint meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Tuesday. They announced they are "launching a nationwide civic resistance movement to prevent a judicial coup."
Cho, who opened the meeting, criticized the bill, saying, "How can a special counsel appointed by the president cancel indictments that erase the president's own crimes?" He called it "an act that shakes the foundation of the rule of law and a judicial insurrection."
Oh followed up, saying, "Everyone with different political positions, excluding the Democratic Party, must join together." He urged, "President Lee Jae-myung must clearly state his position to abandon this attempt."
Yoo, who repeatedly called on the Democratic Party's Seoul mayoral candidate Jung Won-oh, Incheon mayoral candidate Park Chan-dae, and Gyeonggi gubernatorial candidate Choo Mi-ae to clarify their positions, emphasized, "This meeting must not be a one-time event." He added, "Opposition candidates must build a front to defend the rule of law through a joint response body."
Kim pointed out, "Nowhere in the world is there a country that makes laws to erase one's own trial." He added, "If the special counsel bill passes, it sets a precedent for erasing one's own crimes again even when the administration changes."
Immediately after the meeting, the candidates released a joint statement urging that "the 'Lee Jae-myung self-absolution special counsel bill' be immediately withdrawn."
Addressing President Lee, they said, "Declare clearly before the people that 'there will absolutely be no cancellation of indictments regarding my charges during my term, and I will stand trial according to law and principle.'" They added, "We will launch a nationwide online signature campaign to block the judicial coup."
They also added, "We will stand in solidarity beyond parties and camps, and we urge the media, intellectuals, and civic groups to take a stand."
The meeting was held after Cho proposed an emergency joint conference the previous day to the capital region's metropolitan mayor and governor candidates. Yang left after a photo session before the meeting due to scheduling reasons but joined the joint statement.
Meanwhile, regarding speculation about a candidate merger raised in some quarters, Cho drew a line, saying, "We are doing this with a desperate mindset that if we are pushed back here, we will be pushed all the way down the Nakdong River into the sea off Busan." He added, "We have absolutely no thought about whether this helps unification from a political-engineering standpoint."
