'Democratic Party cited nonexistent case numbers in complaint against Park'

'Officer who summoned Park handcuffed Rep. Lee Jin-sook'

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo and fellow members of the special committee to block the cancellation of President Lee Jae Myung's trial hold a press conference outside the Metropolitan Investigation Unit in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, ahead of the scheduled summons of Prosecutor Park Sang-yong. [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo and fellow members of the special committee to block the cancellation of President Lee Jae Myung's trial hold a press conference outside the Metropolitan Investigation Unit in Mapo-gu, Seoul, on Thursday, ahead of the scheduled summons of Prosecutor Park Sang-yong. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo fired a direct warning at the Democratic Party of Korea on Thursday, saying it should "bear in mind that the suppression of Prosecutor Park Sang-yong could lead directly to the impeachment of President Lee Jae Myung."

Joo, who chairs the PPP's special committee to block the cancellation of Lee's trial, made the remarks at a press conference at the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency's Metropolitan Investigation Unit office in Mapo-gu, Seoul.

He criticized the Democratic Party, saying "the power's attack dogs have begun to move in order to cancel Lee Jae Myung's trial," and charged that Democratic Party members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee had cited nonexistent case numbers and fabricated content in a complaint filed against Park on charges of refusing to take an oath before the National Assembly.

"This is the kind of comedy that comes from drafting a complaint by running AI," Joo said, adding that writing false case citations and content amounted to the crime of falsifying an official document.

Joo also identified the Metropolitan Investigation Unit section chief who issued the summons to Park, saying the officer was "the very person who handcuffed Rep. Lee Jin-sook when he was head of the investigation division at Yeongdeungpo Police Station."

"Even here, he reads the room for those in power — raiding Starbucks while burying the case involving lawmaker Kim Byung-kee," Joo said. "Is this not the very definition of serving as a lackey of power?"

Joo also turned his criticism on the police more broadly. "The police pounce on cases that suit those in power and tear into them regardless of the facts, while covering up cases in which people have lost their lives — even going so far as to fabricate evidence," he said. He questioned whether such an institution deserved to be called South Korea's police force, and accused it of pursuing the investigation against Park as a stepping stone toward canceling Lee's trial. "The people will not forgive the Democratic Party and the police for becoming lackeys of power," he said.

Park, who investigated the Ssangbangul inter-Korean funds transfer case, received a summons from police on Thursday on charges of refusing to take an oath at a National Assembly hearing.


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