'If public sentiment sours, president will hesitate'

'Serious constitutional violations are grounds for impeachment'

People Power Party lawmaker Park Chung-kwon. [Yonhap]
People Power Party lawmaker Park Chung-kwon. [Yonhap]

People Power Party lawmaker Park Chung-kwon said Tuesday that President Lee Jae Myung appears to be "gauging public opinion" after delaying a Cabinet vote on the so-called fabricated-indictment special prosecutor act by about a week.

Park, the PPP's chief spokesperson, appeared on YTN Radio and said the act passed the National Assembly on Friday, and holding a Cabinet vote as early as Tuesday would make the administration look as though it was "snatching it up the moment it was handed over." He said the delay suggested the government was taking about a week to gauge how quickly public awareness of the legislation was spreading and to weigh its options accordingly.

On what options the PPP has as the opposition, Park said "the only tool available to us is a public opinion campaign." He added that if sentiment turns negative, "the president will hesitate, and so will Minister-nominee Lee Yong-cheol, who was appointed by the president."

Park also said the floor leader had announced at a supreme council meeting Monday that the party would file a constitutional complaint. "Is the president not appointing a special prosecutor to cancel his own trial?" Park said. "That is completely at odds with the constitutional principle of equality before the law."

On calls to impeach President Lee, Park cited Article 65 of the Constitution, which makes a president subject to an impeachment motion in cases of serious violations of the Constitution or law. "If something like this does not qualify as grounds for impeachment, what would?" he said.

Regarding the PPP members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee boycotting standing committee and budget review sessions, Park said the walkout was itself part of the public opinion campaign — a protest against what he called "Lee Jae Myung's jailbreak bill" and those helping to push it through.

On the question of whether Han Dong-hoon could rejoin the party, Park said the internal mood was "not very receptive" and that there was no one in the party willing to take responsibility for shepherding Han's return. He added that if PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok were seen as the one behind it, "the leadership would collapse," and said he did not think the timing was right under current circumstances.

On Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon, Park noted that more than 30 people had attended a seminar Oh held, and acknowledged that "there is clearly a sense of anticipation" around the mayor.


mp1256@heraldcorp.com