Police filed arrest warrants for lawmaker Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul City Council member Kim Gyeong 38 days after launching the investigation. [Photo=Yonhap News]

Police have finally filed arrest warrants for lawmaker Kang Sun-woo and former Seoul City Council member Kim Gyeong 38 days after initiating the investigation.

In response, Park Sung-hoon, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party, issued a statement on the 6th, criticizing, "The Democratic Party's nomination bribery case is not only beyond excuse, but the alleged criminal charges are exceedingly clear, even just from the contents of the recorded transcripts."

He also lamented, "Despite the nomination timing, amounts, and relationships between the involved parties being so clear, the police investigation was sluggish to an unimaginable degree." He added, "During that time, former council member Kim Gyeong left for the United States, and even indications of evidence tampering emerged. The investigation into lawmaker Kang Sun-woo only proceeded after the Democratic Party expelled her."

Senior spokesperson Park stated critically, "The over a month that the police let slip away was a period that bought time for someone to escape."

Furthermore, he commented that the investigation into Democratic Party former floor leader Kim Byung-ki was no different.

Kim Byung-ki is facing 13 allegations, including receiving kickbacks for nomination in the 2020 general election, but the police have not even conducted a single summons investigation against him.

Jeon Jae-soo is also accused of receiving money and expensive watches from the Unification Church in the past. However, while the police are dragging their feet on the investigation, Jeon has declared his intention to run for Busan mayor, as if to deceive the 3.2 million citizens of Busan, and is actively campaigning.

Senior spokesperson Park pointed out, "The Republic of Korea, now a 'country of a president with criminal charges,' has become an abnormal nation where one can only run for office if they have criminal facts and suspicions. On the other hand, the police moved like lightning, even forming a joint investigation headquarters, for the so-called 'ordered investigations' by the regime targeting the opposition party."

He further vehemently criticized, "If the perception of 'innocent if it's my side, guilty if it's your side' is operating in the investigative field, then the police are no longer law enforcement agencies but merely 'power's lapdogs' and 'dictatorship's henchmen.'"

He also emphasized that the political neutrality of the police is a fundamental principle of democracy, stating, "The police, who have been delegated authority in the name of the people, are now prioritizing the security of power."

He added, "A country where any illegality and impropriety goes unpunished simply because one holds power can never endure. They may be able to suppress with force, drag out time, and evade responsibility for now, but the public is watching every process with wide-open eyes."

Finally, he warned, "Even crimes hidden behind power cannot ultimately escape punishment commensurate with the offense. The current police are by no means exempt from that responsibility, and they must remember that if they cannot cut the leash of their lapdogs, the public's judgment will surely return someday."

Reporter Lim Yo-hee