The Democratic Party of Korea decided on the 3rd not to process the so-called "trial suspension law" (amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act), which would suspend the trial of the incumbent president.

Park Soo-hyun, the party's official spokesperson, had stated at a press conference the previous day that the trial suspension law would be referred to as the "State Stability Law," "State Protection Law," or "Constitutional Article 84 Defense Law," and even left open the possibility of its processing within the regular parliamentary session by the end of the month. However, they reversed their stance within a day.

This change is understood to have been directly influenced by the Presidential Office's intervention, urging, "Do not drag President Lee Jae-myung into the center of political disputes."

On this day, Park, the chief spokesperson, did not mention the trial suspension law in his first briefing after the morning Supreme Council meeting. However, about an hour later, he held another briefing and announced, "The Democratic Party has decided not to pursue the State Stability Law through discussions with the party leadership, including Representative Chung Cheong-rae."

He stated, "We have reached a consensus that now is the time to focus on tariff negotiations, the outcomes of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, and public reporting sessions."

When asked if there were any related requests from the Presidential Office, he replied, "We have discussed this through the party leadership (with the Presidential Office) and have coordinated with the Presidential Office."

Speech by Kang Hoon-sik, Chief Presidential Secretary. Yonhap News. 

In relation to this, Kang Hoon-sik, the Chief Presidential Secretary, stated at a press briefing this afternoon, "We requested that the trial suspension law be excluded from the party's judicial reform agenda," and added, "We urge you not to drag the president into the center of political disputes."

He further commented, "The president's thoughts are also in line with this. It can be interpreted that the president has requested that the trial suspension law not be further entangled in political disputes, allowing focus on revitalizing the people's livelihoods and the economy."

The trial suspension law passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee under the initiative of the Democratic Party in June, immediately after the Supreme Court's decision to remand President Lee's public election law case. It has since been pending before the plenary session, and the plenary session could have processed it at any time according to the party leadership's decision.

Afterward, the bill remained dormant but discussions for its promotion were recently reignited, triggered by the parliamentary audit of the judiciary.

This occurred when Kim Dae-woong, the Presiding Judge of the Seoul High Court, responded to a question from a People Power Party lawmaker asking if President Lee's suspended trials could be resumed by stating that "theoretically, it is possible." Although it was a principled answer, momentum began to build within the Democratic Party for the re-promotion of the trial suspension law.

Concerns were raised within the party that if even one of the five suspended trials were to resume, it would not only violate Article 84 of the Constitution, which stipulates the immunity from prosecution for the incumbent president, but also lead to a paralysis of state affairs.

Furthermore, there were claims that the first-instance ruling last month, which imposed heavy sentences on those involved in the Daejang-dong development scandal, also influenced the push for the trial suspension law. President Lee is indicted on charges of breach of trust in connection with the Daejang-dong development corruption allegations.

The Democratic Party leadership had officially taken a cautious stance on processing the bill, stating that the promotion of the trial suspension law was the "opinion of individual lawmakers." However, a more proactive push was detected starting yesterday.

A key party official said in a phone call, "I understand that the message from Chief Spokesperson Park Soo-hyun's press conference regarding the promotion of the trial suspension law yesterday was not an expression of personal opinion but was made in consultation with the party leadership."

However, as President Lee is the direct stakeholder, this immediately sparked controversy about "lawmaking for a specific person." Moreover, the attempt to change the name of the bill to shift the framing faced public criticism, which is analyzed to have placed a burden on the ruling party and the Presidential Office.

There were also significant internal criticisms that the Democratic Party had intentionally created a political dispute at a time when the government and the ruling party were focusing on promoting the success of the APEC summit, including the successful conclusion of the South Korea-US, South Korea-China, and South Korea-Japan summits.

A two-term lawmaker from the Seoul metropolitan area said in a phone call, "I was surprised to see the news that the trial suspension law was being pursued. At a time when we should be supporting the achievements of the APEC summit, why is such an issue emerging?"

Representative Park Hong-keun, a former floor leader, wrote on Facebook, "The strategic questions posed by the People Power Party during this parliamentary audit and the unprincipled answers from the judiciary were the root cause. However, the somewhat hasty and inconsistent response process within the Democratic Party was also not sophisticated. In particular, as the ruling party with infinite responsibility for state affairs, we should not repeat communication breakdowns with the Presidential Office."

Ultimately, the Democratic Party's second attempt to process the trial suspension law also became a non-issue.

When asked in a briefing if the decision was to "not just postpone but to completely abandon processing the bill," Chief Spokesperson Park replied, "Yes."

He added, "While there may be various opinions within the party, I believe this issue does not require a separate opinion-gathering process."

Yonhap News