On the 12th, lawmakers and party members, including Jang Dong-hyuk, the leader of the People Power Party, chant protest slogans at a rally urging the recovery of 740 billion won in state funds from the Daewang-dong suspects and condemning external pressure to drop the prosecution's appeal, held in front of the National Assembly main building in Yeouido, Seoul. Yonhap News. 

The People Power Party launched a full-scale offensive against the ruling party on the 12th, alleging that there was executive-level external pressure in the prosecution's decision to abandon its appeal of the first-instance ruling in the Daewang-dong case.

The People Power Party held a rally titled "Urging the Recovery of 740 Billion Won in State Funds from the Daewang-dong Suspects and Condemning External Pressure to Drop the Prosecution's Appeal" on the steps in front of the National Assembly main building. The party claimed that at least 15,000 people attended the rally.

Leader Jang Dong-hyuk stated, "President Lee Jae-myung is at the pinnacle of abandoning the appeal," adding, "This is merely the beginning of the process to drop the charges in President Lee's trial."

He further declared, "We are filing an appeal to the people in the Daewang-dong case that the prosecution abandoned. We must end President Lee and this regime. We must unite and fight until the day President Lee is impeached."

Regarding the special prosecutor's arrest of former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn on the same day, Jang emphasized, "This is to cover up the abandonment of the Daewang-dong appeal. It is war. We are Hwang Kyo-ahn, so let's unite and fight."

Floor Leader Song Eon-seok asserted, "The Lee Jae-myung regime is the entity behind the external pressure to abandon the appeal. They exerted external pressure to fully preserve the criminal proceeds amounting to 780 billion won."

Song pointed to Justice Minister Chung Sung-ho's statement conveying an opinion to the prosecution to "carefully consider" the appeal, calling it a "confession of external pressure to abandon the appeal" and describing it as "pressure akin to that from organized crime."

He then urged, "The people want to know the truth: was this a successful investigation or a fabricated indictment? Let's conduct a parliamentary inquiry and a special prosecutor's investigation to reveal the truth."

Rep. Joo Jin-woo, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, questioned, "Are they showing leniency because they are afraid Kim Man-bae and Nam Wook will implicate President Lee? Can a trial be fair if the prosecution cannot appeal, paving the way for defendants to lie?"

Rep. Park Hyeong-soo stated, "Minister Chung and acting Prosecutor General Roh Man-seok must resign. We must conduct a parliamentary inquiry to hold the minister, acting prosecutor general, and the president accountable, and if that fails, they must be impeached."

Attendees held placards with slogans such as "Abandoning the Daewang-dong Appeal is a Death Sentence for Judicial Justice," "It is the People's Command to Reopen the Five Trials," and "Conduct a Parliamentary Inquiry into External Pressure on the Daewang-dong Investigation," while chanting phrases like "The Democratic Party, which defends the Daewang-dong suspects, is also an accomplice."

Yonhap News