People Power Party candidates for metropolitan government head positions gathered in Seoul on Thursday to launch a full-scale offensive against the "fabricated indictment special counsel bill" being pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea. With the June 3 local elections just over a month away, the move signals an attempt to rally the conservative camp around opposition to the bill. In response, Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae moved to defuse tensions by pledging to delay passage of the bill until after the local elections.
The People Power Party's metropolitan candidates held an emergency press conference at Bosingak in Jongno-gu, Seoul, where they released a "Resolution to Block Lee Jae-myung's Judicial Coup." Attendees included candidates Oh Se-hoon (Seoul), Yang Hyang-ja (Gyeonggi), Yoo Jeong-bok (Incheon), Kim Jin-tae (Gangwon), Kim Young-hwan (Chungbuk), Yang Jeong-mu (Jeonbuk), and Choi Min-ho (Sejong). Lee Jung-hyun, the candidate for the integrated Jeonnam-Gwangju special city mayor, and Moon Seong-yu, the candidate for Jeju governor, did not attend in person but added their names to the resolution.
The candidates emphasized they would fight alongside all forces to block the special counsel bill. "We will not stand idly by as this outrageous 'attempt to delete crimes' unfolds," Oh said. "We will form a united front with all parties and citizens who share the cause of 'defending the constitutional order' and fight back."
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk also raised the pressure at a press briefing at the National Assembly on the same day. "While leaders around the world are busy protecting national interests amid wars, President Lee Jae-myung is preoccupied only with erasing his own crimes," he said. "Withdrawing an indictment does not erase the crimes committed. On the contrary, the unlawful and unconstitutional withdrawal of indictment will later be added to his record, resulting in only aggravated punishment."
The reason both People Power Party candidates and party leadership are escalating their offensive against the special counsel bill is the significant effect it has in rallying the conservative base. In fact, since the Democratic Party signaled its intent to pass the special counsel bill granting authority to withdraw the indictment against President Lee, opinion poll gaps have narrowed to within the margin of error, particularly in Daegu and Busan.
In response, Jung said regarding the bill's passage that "we will gather the collective will of the people, party members, and lawmakers to make the best choice," indicating he would delay passage until after the local elections. Earlier, President Lee had also called for a delay in processing the bill tied to the withdrawal of his indictment, saying "national deliberation is needed."
