Democratic Party interim floor leader Cheon Jun-ho and members of the special committee for the parliamentary audit submit the 'Special Prosecutor Act for the Truth Investigation of Fabricated Prosecutions by Yoon Suk-yeol's Political Prosecution' to the legislative affairs office of the National Assembly on April 30. [Yonhap News]

The People Power Party announced on the 1st that it would block the special prosecutor bill proposed by the Democratic Party, which aims to investigate allegations of fabricated investigations and prosecutions by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, through a full-fledged filibuster (legally obstructing the proceedings through unlimited debate).

Speaking to reporters at the National Assembly that day, floor spokesperson Choi Soo-jin said, "While they are crying out for truth investigation on the surface, their inner intention is to cancel President Lee Jae-myung's own trial," adding, "A filibuster is expected to be carried out as a basic measure."

Choi also argued, "The real need for a special prosecutor is for the investigations of ruling party figures such as Jeon Jae-soo, Kim Byung-ki, Jang Kyung-tae, and Lee Chun-seok," and claimed, "It is a case of degrading the special prosecutor, which is operated with the precious tax money of the people, into a 'personal law firm' solely to prevent one person's trial."

Senior spokesperson Park Seong-hoon also criticized in a commentary, "After the 41-day parliamentary audit ended in a baseless 'failure,' it rather clarified President Lee's wrongdoings, and now they are making a brazen move and an unprecedented legislative attempt to create an entirely new law that allows the president to erase his own guilt."

Park stated, "The core of this special prosecutor bill is the granting of the right to withdraw indictments, allowing the special prosecutor to arbitrarily cancel cases that the prosecution has already indicted and are currently on trial," and condemned it as a "dangerous idea that shakes the entire judicial system."

He continued, "Was the end of the prosecution reform and judicial reform that the Democratic Party is shouting for the establishment of a 'self-exoneration system' to launder the president's criminal record?" and denounced, "Those who claim to be representatives of the people are acting like a cult that worships a criminal suspect as their leader, rather than upholding the Constitution, and are destroying the judicial system root and branch."

Floor deputy spokesperson Yoo Sang-beom, a former prosecutor, wrote on Facebook, "With three special prosecutions, a standing special prosecution, and a second comprehensive special prosecution, a budget of at least 67 billion won is required, and they are again intending to spend tens of billions of won of taxpayer money to withdraw the indictment for the president's case," pointing out, "The constitutional principle of equality before the law is being applied differently for the president alone."

Policy committee chairman Jung Jeong-sik, a three-term veteran, and lawmaker Seong Il-jong also stated on Facebook regarding the Democratic Party's special prosecutor bill that it was "an open challenge to the constitutional order" and that "they must think the people are dogs and pigs. June 3rd will be an election for the judgment on the withdrawal of indictments."

Oh Se-hoon, a candidate for Seoul mayor, also commented on the special prosecutor bill via SNS, stating, "It is more dangerous and worse than a criminal bribing the prosecutor who indicted him to withdraw the indictment. They have crossed a line that should not be crossed by a significant margin," and urged, "We must save Korea, which is falling into the swamp of dictatorship, in this local election."