Kim Moon-hee (left), head of the Institute for Health Sciences and Human Rights, and Kim Soon-hwan, secretary-general of the Committee for the People's Livelihood (Seominwi), are on a hunger strike in front of the National Assembly. ⒸHanmi Ilbo

"If we cannot stop Lee Jae-myung's reckless actions, dissolve the National Assembly. We will remain here until the National Assembly ceases its actions." 

Kim Soon-hwan, secretary-general of the Committee for the People's Livelihood (Seominwi), has been continuing his hunger strike in front of the National Assembly for eight days without a tent in the severe cold.

Secretary-General Kim and Kim Moon-hee, head of the Institute for Health Sciences and Human Rights, began their hunger strike together on the 26th of last month. However, Representative Kim was taken to the hospital on the sixth day of her hunger strike due to physical discomfort.

A citizen encountered in front of the National Assembly stated, "These individuals are fighting with their bare bodies not for their own interests or political positions, but solely for the survival of the nation and its people." They added, "The Daejang-dong suspicions, housing market stabilization measures, and the recovery of illegal profits are all matters that the National Assembly must investigate and resolve."

Another citizen lamented, "If someone is risking their life on a frozen floor to demand basic rights that should naturally be fulfilled, is this truly a normal country?"

Meanwhile, Secretary-General Kim announced, "I will continue my protest (hunger strike) until our three demands are met."

The three demands put forth by Seominwi at a press conference held jointly with the Lawyers for the People (Seobyeon) on November 26th at 2 PM are as follows:

First, regarding the statement by Kim Yong-beom, head of the Presidential Office's Policy Office, during the National Assembly's inspection of government affairs that "September statistics did not exist on October 14th, when the Housing Policy Deliberation Committee was held," the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport had, in fact, received September housing price statistics from the Korea Real Estate Board at 4 PM on October 13th. Despite being aware that the September housing market trends from the Korea Real Estate Board would be officially announced at 2 PM on October 15th, housing market stabilization measures were announced at 10 AM on the same day. This act is tantamount to statistical manipulation and has caused self-blame and suffering to the common people in the ten autonomous districts. The National Assembly and the government must provide an explanation and resolve this promptly.

Second, by the prosecution's decision to 'waive appeal' in the first trial related to Lee Jae-myung's Daejang-dong case at midnight on November 8th, the recovery of approximately 780 billion won in criminal proceeds from the Daejang-dong private developers has become impossible. This has caused immense damage to the 910,000 citizens of Seongnam. The government will launch an investigation into whether there was external pressure regarding the prosecution's waiver of appeal, and the National Assembly will prepare legislation for the recovery of criminal proceeds.

Third, the illegal surveillance, implemented from the 24th under the pretext of 'organizing a government innovation task force that respects the Constitution,' is infringing on human rights by accessing the mobile phones of 750,000 civil servants. This is not just a violation of privacy but an extremely inappropriate action that can shake the entirety of one's life, potentially exacerbating conflicts between colleagues, lowering work morale, and raising concerns that it could be the starting point for surveillance of the public. We demand an apology and a swift resolution to this matter.

Donation Account: Korea Post 010108-01-014472 

Account Holder: Committee for the People's Livelihood 

Hanmi Ilbo Editorial Department