Five People Power Party (PPP) candidates for metropolitan mayor and provincial governor posts in the Yeongnam region gathered at the Ulsan Press Center on Thursday morning for an emergency joint press conference denouncing the "prosecution withdrawal special prosecutor bill" being pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea. The candidates characterized the bill as a "judicial coup" that destroys the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea.
Attending the press conference were Kim Doo-gyeom, candidate for Ulsan Metropolitan Mayor; Park Heong-jun, candidate for Busan Metropolitan Mayor; Park Wan-su, candidate for South Gyeongsang Province Governor; Choo Kyung-ho, candidate for Daegu Metropolitan Mayor; and Lee Cheol-woo, candidate for North Gyeongsang Province Governor — all of the PPP's Yeongnam candidates.
Kim Doo-gyeom, the Ulsan mayoral candidate who opened the press conference, harshly criticized the Democratic Party's prosecution withdrawal special prosecutor bill as "not a law, but a 'judicial coup' and 'judicial insurrection' disguised as legislation." Kim said, "Allowing a special prosecutor appointed by the president to cancel the president's trial violates the constitutional principle of separation of powers and unjustly interferes with judicial procedures — something that did not happen even during the military dictatorship era."
Park Wan-su, the South Gyeongsang gubernatorial candidate, pointed out the unconstitutionality of the bill. "Attempting to eliminate one's own case through prosecution withdrawal during President Lee Jae-myung's term goes beyond the privatization of power and is an anti-constitutional act that directly contradicts the constitutional order of the Republic of Korea," Park said. He added, "They are trying to exploit the gap created by the suspension of the trial during the president's term, abusing the presidential immunity from prosecution guaranteed by the Constitution as a personal pardon."
Park Heong-jun, the Busan mayoral candidate, pointed out that the president is attempting to grant himself a self-pardon through the special prosecutor bill. Referring to the bill as a so-called "crime-deletion special prosecutor bill" that erases one's own offenses, Park criticized that it "neutralizes the court's function of discovering substantive truth." He also emphasized, "This violates the principle of equality under Article 11 of the Constitution, which states that all citizens are equal before the law and shall not be discriminated against," adding, "President Lee Jae-myung is not the king of the Republic of Korea."
Lee Cheol-woo, the North Gyeongsang gubernatorial candidate, called for public action. "The people must understand this well and step forward," Lee emphasized. "Only the people can stop the special prosecutor bill."
Finally, Choo Kyung-ho, the Daegu mayoral candidate, defined the essence of the special prosecutor bill as "an arrogant declaration that no citizen shall question President Lee Jae-myung's crimes." Choo denounced it as "an extra-constitutional idea that seeks to seize the constitutional value of judicial independence entirely into the president's personal grip, and an imperial act of violence forcing surrender upon the people."
Concluding the press conference, the five PPP Yeongnam candidates emphasized, "This must serve as a starting point where all citizens of the five Yeongnam metropolitan cities and provinces fight together."
