Kim Min-seok apologizes over Shincheonji allegations; DPK to pass special counsel bill on fabricated indictments on the 5th

[Financial News] DPK leader Kim Min-seok apologized on the 3rd for allegations of links to Shincheonji that he raised at the time of the party convention, but the controversy has yet to subside as internal opposition continues. The DPK decided that day to postpone a National Assembly investigation into Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae, but adopted as party policy a special counsel bill on fabricated indictments with the charge-dropping clause removed and decided to pass it at the plenary session on the 5th.
At a closed-door lawmakers’ caucus at the National Assembly that day, party leader Kim acknowledged that an investigation had found no basis for the allegation he raised at the August 17 party convention of a “three-way secret alliance” among anti-Lee Jae Myung forces, divisive factions and Shincheonji, and apologized to those harmed by his claim. He then canceled the planned presentation of the investigation’s findings, while allowing only lawmakers who wished to do so to review the relevant material.
After the caucus ended, DPK lawmaker Jung Chung-rae, who had been Kim’s rival in the party leadership race, counterattacked by urging Kim to resolve the matter himself and demanding a public apology and political accountability. DPK lawmaker Park Sun-won, considered an ally of Kim, had also prepared to present the investigation’s findings himself at the caucus, but objected, saying the presentation had been unilaterally canceled without prior consultation.
At its caucus that day, the DPK decided not to submit the plan for a National Assembly investigation into Chief Justice Cho to the plenary session on the 5th. Although passage had initially been discussed as a possibility, the party has opted to slow things down for now. By contrast, it adopted as party policy a revised version of the special counsel bill on fabricated indictments with the charge-dropping clause removed and decided to pass it at the plenary session on the 5th. The plan is to press ahead with the special counsel while excluding the controversial clause.
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok posted on social media (SNS) that day, criticizing the DPK for postponing the National Assembly investigation while pushing the special counsel bill. “Both are paths to their own destruction. They are digging their own graves,” he said. He added, “This isn’t a special counsel investigation to uncover the truth. It’s solely a special counsel to have the charges against Lee Jae Myung dropped,” arguing that removing the charge-dropping clause had not changed the purpose of pursuing the special counsel.
[email protected] Jiwon Song Reporter