Exclusive: Jung Chung-rae Left Out of Parliamentary Investigation on Cancellation of Indictments Against President Lee

According to Financial News, a request for an Investigation of State Administration aimed at cancelling the indictments against President Lee Jae Myung, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, has been reported to the National Assembly, but Democratic Party leader Jung Chung-rae did not sign it. The request bears the names of most Democratic Party lawmakers, yet the party leader himself is absent. The so-called parliamentary investigation into the cancellation of indictments against President Lee Jae Myung was driven by the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction within the Democratic Party of Korea.
According to the National Assembly Legislative Information System on the 13th, the "Request for an Investigation of State Administration into Allegations of Fabricated Indictments by Prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration" carries the signatures of 141 Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers, including parliamentary leader Han Byung-do. Jung’s name, however, is nowhere to be found. By contrast, Jung did sign the "National Assembly investigation into Coupang" request that the Democratic Party of Korea pushed in December last year.
The so-called "investigation into the cancellation of indictments" was promoted under the leadership of the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction. Pro-Lee lawmaker Lee Geon-tae played a central role in launching the "Group for the Cancellation of Indictments and a Parliamentary Investigation into President Lee Jae-myung’s Cases" (often abbreviated as a gathering for the cancellation of the indictment and a National Assembly investigation into the case of President Lee Jae-myung). The party later stepped in directly, establishing the "Committee for a Parliamentary Investigation into Fabricated Indictments under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration and for the Cancellation of Indictments," effectively absorbing the earlier group. Parliamentary leader Han Byung-do serves as the committee chair.
The request for an Investigation of State Administration was reported to the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 12th. The scope of the investigation covers: the Daejang-dong development corruption scandal; the Wirye New Town development corruption scandal; allegations that former Institute for Democracy deputy director Kim Yong received illicit funds; the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea case; the Real Estate Statistics Manipulation Allegation Case; the West Sea civil servant shooting incident; and the prosecution’s investigation and indictment process in the case of journalists charged after reporting on the alleged cover-up of the Busan Savings Bank investigation involving the former president.
Besides party leader Jung, lawmakers Kwak Sang-eon, Kim Min-seok, Kim Sung-hwan, Kim Yong-min, Kim Yun-duk, Kim Jeong-ho, Kim Jun-hwan, Park Min-kyu, Park Hee-seung, Song Ki-heon, Gyu-baek Ahn, Oh Gi-hyoung, Yun Ho-jung, Lee In-young, Jang Kyung-tae, Jeon Jae-su, Jeong Seong-ho, Jo In-cheol, Choi Ki-sang, and Hong Gi-won also did not sign the request.
haeram@fnnews.com Lee Haeram, Kim Hyeong-gu Reporter