Conservative LKP Executive Committee rejects Na Kyung-won as Assembly floor leader

(Source- JTBC News, 12.4) Na Kyung-won, LKP floor leader in the National Assembly. "Today at the regular session, I will not question the matter of my term extension. Floor leader Na Kyung-won's foot steps stop here."

The Executive Committee of the right wing Liberty Korea Party earlier today after an all night long conference, voted not to renew Na Kyung-won's position as the Floor Leader of the opposition party in the National Assembly. It appears the conference where the decision took place was in a tent outside the Blue House grounds where LKP leader and former Prime Minister, Hwang Kyo-Ahn, had been conducting his "hunger strike" until he gave that up last week. However after he left the hospital he returned to the scene of his demonstration where his followers and supporters waited.

At the opening of the National Assembly this morning, Na somewhat bitterly, announced she would respect the decision of the LKP Executive Committee, and not take a further step as the party floor leader. This "in order to ensure the good of the people and the unity of the party." There is a storm of indignation and criticism within the Liberty Korea Party at the step taken by the so called "pro Hwang faction" in the Executive Committee. Expressions of resistance, public, private and on line to the committee's resolution was plentiful. LKP members of the National Assembly questioned the authority of the party committee to make such a decision, and maintained it was the prerogative of sitting LKP National Assembly members. Further, some felt that the committee was without authority to make such a determination when the new session of the National Assembly was not yet convened pending elections in April.

(Source- JTBC News, 11.20) Liberty Korea Party leader, Hwang Kyo-ahn on a hunger strike in front of the Blue House grounds.

The future of the right wing opposition party is in doubt at a critical time in South Korean history as the rift between Hwang and Na breaks out into the open. One wonders what Na and Hwang discussed when she visited his tent in front of the Blue House grounds after returning from her recent US visit. That the Executive Committee's action might portend the end of the Liberty Korea Party as we know it, was a fear expressed publicly by some members. One LKP assembly member openly criticized Hwang's hunger strike affecting a pose as a party reformer, attempting to sanctify the party. His head shaving and fasting reminiscent of traditional ascetic protests, previously used by revered left leaning reformers such as Kim Dae-jung who opposed the prior military dictatorships of South Korea. The omnipresence of Christian conference leaders and their followers at Hwang's demonstration are an indication of where the base of former impeached President Park's predecessor Saenuri party lay.

Hwang's holier than thou effect, is an implied but unexpressed contrast to the alleged corruption and hypocrisy of Na Kyung-won's effort to use her political position during the Lee Myung-bak presidency to obtain her daughter's admission to college. This is the very same type of behavior that was used to drive the former democratic party justice minister from power only several weeks ago. I asked three weeks ago in a previous analysis, how long would Na last?*

*Conservative LKP Leader Na Kyung-won on the Ropes? November 14, 20019
https://civilizationdiscontents.blogspot.com/2019/11/conservative-lkp-leader-na-kyung-won-on.html

The internal criticism of the Executive Committee's action by Na's supporters within the LKP suggests that Hwang has privatized the party, making it his personal domain, betraying "the interests of the people." Na had just recently declared an all out legislative confrontation with the ruling coalition in the National Assembly by carrying out a filibuster to block all pending legislation before the end of the legislative session unless the proposed fast track reform bills were set aside by the Democratic Party. Democratic Party leaders are attempting to devise a strategy in conjunction with three small minority parties to nullify the filibuster. One tactic would be to declare an end to the regular session next week followed immediately by an extraordinary sesssion of the National Assembly to pass all pending legislation. Filibusters are not allowed in extraordinary session. So the looming constitutional crisis continues. It was hoped on the right that the left would be the victim, but it appears the right may crack first under the pressure.

Political Turmoil in South Korea

(Source- JTBC News 10.18) Liberty Korea Party representatives may be charged in a group, as they have refused to respond to summons (from the investigating prosecutors for the April 25 "fast track" incident in the National Assembly.)

The right wing Liberty Korea Party didn't have much time to relish the resignation of the Cho Kuk, the short term Minister of Justice who barely lasted thirty five days after being appointed to reform the National Prosecutor's office in South Korea. This morning prosecution office investigators arrived at the National Assembly Broadcast archives office to collect all video recordings related to last April's Liberty Korea Party sit in blockade of the National Assembly offices to preclude consideration of "fast track" legislative proposals (discussed here in an earlier blog entry Oct 12). The fast track proposals included electoral reform as well as prosecution reform. The presentation of a search warrant at the video archives indicates that the Chief Prosecutor's office has decided to proceed with a formal investigation of the Liberty Korea Party's unlawful acts in the National Assembly building despite their representatives collective refusal to respond to legal process. The prosecution could rely on filing charges against members identified in the video recordings without obtaining individual responses to summons or statements from the conservative representatives. As many as sixty representatives or staff members were involved in the disorder, which ultimately failed to prevent a fast track approval vote the legislative committee.

(Source- JTBC News 10.18) Liberty Korea Party opposition leader in the National Assembly, "I have already said I know that in order for government to finish its (fast track) investigation we will face investigation. Nevertheless, during the regular session of the National Assembly to take colleagues away (from our duties) really..."

Given the suspicions surrounding Cho Kuk's wife and other family members, it may have been a serious mistake for Moon Jae In to appoint him Justice Minister. Minister Cho's sudden resignation on October 14 was the right move in view of increasing domestic dissatisfaction and unrest evidenced by street demonstrations. South Korea's economic difficulties prompted by the ongoing trade disputes in Asia, the rift with Japan, and the unraveling of relations with North Korea have all taken a toll on the approval rating of the democratic administration. One domestic poll reported by JTBC on the 17th reported that Moon's approval rating had improved by more than three percent after the sudden Cho resignation. Today JTBC reported a Gallup poll saying that Moon's popularity had continued to fall and was below forty percent for the first time since he took office.

(Source- JTBC News 10.18) National Assembly Broadcast caught the fast track confrontation live on camera while it happened. Unedited archive videos are sought in the prosecution's search warrant.


The Liberty Korea Party can take little comfort from the polls. It is they now who are being chided publicly for being on the wrong side of the legal process. In addition to the negative publicity of their embarrassing impolitic display of weakness last April, they are now presented with the prospect of dealing with an apparently implacable and capable chief prosecutor. In addition to this, they are faced with potentially losing seats in the National Assembly based on the electoral reform to which four of the political parties have agreed to fast track. This reform may come up for a vote in the Assembly in time to affect the April 2020 elections barring any unforeseen developments. However, unforeseen developments seem to have been the order of the day since the Park impeachment, and anything could happen. Who could have predicted mass demonstrations in Gwanghwamun, as seen on October 3, and October 9 in favor of the right wing party? The democratic party assembly leader commented on the unsavory quality of dictator reverence that seemed to affect some of the crowd. Leader Na responded that democrats had no room to criticize anyone for dictatorial traits.

(Source- JTBC News 10.18) Lee In Yeong, Democratic Party floor leader in the National Assembly. Hiding from the chief prosecutor..."instead of rationalizing self advocacy I wish those of you facing legal process from the prosecutors office respond now. No one, no matter who they are, is above the law."

Under these circumstances, polls mean nothing if the LKP doesn't have a majority in the legislature and is out of stonewalling and diversion tactics. So what will the wily LKP leaders come up with for their next move? More mass street demonstrations? Attempts by demonstrators to enter the Blue House? Violent Black Bloc type tactics seen in Hong Kong presaged in the October 3 Gwanghwamun demonstration? Anything could happen. The trial process against Cho Kuk's spouse began today, but the prosecution hasn't yet complied with discovery requests from the defense based on claims disclosure would adversely affect investigations related to former Minister Cho. The judge did not accept the explanation and further hearing is scheduled.

South Korean Domestic Instability

Last April, representatives of the right wing Liberty Korea Party and their staff illegally obstructed South Korea's National Assembly by blocking the hallways, doors and passageways of the assembly building and in some cases committing assaults in an attempt to stop passage of the so called "fast track" procedure for consideration of bills within 330 days. The fast track measure was proposed as a necessary means to overcome LKP stonewalling legislation by bottling reform bills up in committee indefinitely with their boycotts of the legislative process and other stalling tactics. Recently, 18 members of the LKP have refused to accept summons process from the Seoul Prosecutors Office Southern District in an investigation of their suspected criminal acts in the National Assembly building. In a "tit for tat" response, the LKP filed criminal complaints against members of the ruling Democratic Party. The criminal investigation against the LKP, includes, Na Kyung-won, the party floor leader. Hwang Kyo-ahn, the leader of the LKP and former Saenuri Party Prime Minister during the Park impeachment, who shaved his head in protest to the administration, said he should be the one called to formally answer for the events disrupting the legislative process. Because much of the criminal activity is apparent on video recordings of the scene inside the assembly building and third party witnesses were present, the criminal investigation could go forward without taking statements from the named suspects. Some observers say prosecution of sitting members of the legislature for these actions may simply just aggravate the ongoing political conflict.

The net outcome of this obstruction of governance by the minority conservative opposition party has been to take the issues that are intended for a legislative vote in National Assembly on November 29, and make them an issue for street politics by mass crowds. Democratic partisans have held a total of nine mass demonstrations thus far in favor of prosecution reforms, which will increase investigative powers of police agencies to offset the overwhelming power of the central prosecutors office, and by reducing the special prosecutors offices operating in six regional offices in South Korea. The monopoly of prosecution powers is felt to encourage corruption by making prosecutors, in effect, immune from investigative initiatives from law enforcement. The demonstrations began in response to the two month long investigation of the family of the Justice Minister, Cho Kuk.

Cho Kuk, the new Justice Minister appointed by the Blue House, has had family members subject to formal investigation by the Central prosecutor's office for two months now. Massive street demonstrations by democratic party supporters against the prosecutors office are styled as both support for Cho Kuk, who has been appointed to carry out prosecution reforms, and support for the reforms themselves. Cho Kuk's daughter and mother have been accused of falsifying records and perhaps influence peddling to obtain academic credentials from prestigious institutions and are under investigation. It is somewhat ironic that the son of the LKP legislative floor leader, Na Kyung-won, is accused by the press of similar abuses. Cho Kuk's family members, including his wife, are also accused of engaging in suspicious financial activities which may be a cover for influence peddling. It appears that the focus of the central prosecutors investigation is, in fact, Cho Kuk, as the investigation spreads a broad net in search of evidence. Again, ironically, the Prosecutor General, has been accused in the press, of taking gifts and having conflicts of interest. He denies the accusations.

A more fundamental issue, involves the resistance of the conservative party to fast track of the legislative electoral reforms which would weaken their representation in the National Assembly. The number of proportional voting seats in the assembly of 300 representatives would increase from 47 to 75 giving greater representation to democratic or progressive parties. The estimated effect would be to reduce the number of LKP seats from 117 to 97. This is the crux of the matter really. Additionally, there is a strong regional basis to the right wing vote in South Korea that has been a barrier to reform for decades, used to preserve and protect the interests of chaebol families, corporate management, and legacy pro-Japanese interests. The legislative electoral reform could potentially weaken or temporarily eliminate this obstacle after the next election April 15.

Threats of physical resistance to the present administration are implicit in the last major right wing rally at Gwangwhamoon, on last week's Hangulnal holiday. These threats are in the nature of the type of violent resistance that is going on in Hong Kong presently. At the recent LKP organized Gwangwhamoon demonstrations, the religious and far right constituencies engage in overt adulation of the military dictatorships the right supported in the past, along with claims that the former president, Park Geun Hye, was unjustly impeached and convicted on false evidence of abuse of power contrived by the press. The threats were presented in two forms, first in confrontations with police near the Blue House security cordon, the seat of executive power, not far from Gwangwhamoon. The second is in equivocal language promising the fighting, and resistance, exemplified by Hong Kong street radicals who engage in physical combat with police. The threatening language in speeches given during the presence of leaders of the LKP, ‎Hwang Kyo-ahn and ‎Na Kyung-won, is ambivalent enough to provide "plausible deniability." It's no surprise that the LKP/far right demonstrations call for the impeachment of president Moon Jae-in, along with the resignation and arrest of the Justice Minister, Cho Kuk. The politics of desperation of the far right Liberty Korea Party are on display.

The demonstration this Saturday in Seocho dong, Seoul, by the pro-democratic supporters brought out some right wing counter demonstrators behind the police line, with their ubiquitous US flags sprinkled among the Taegukkis. A very large US flag was displayed out front which took a group of people to carry it. The question is why do opponents of democracy in South Korea invariably bring US flags to their demonstrations?

Sources:

한국당 소환불응 고수…'패스트트랙 충돌' 조사없이 재판 넘기나
송고시간 | 2019-10-13 09:30
https://www.yna.co.kr/view/AKR20191013006900004?section=politics/national-assembly&site=major_news01

South Korean National Assembly Fast-tracks Reform Bills Amid Conservative Opposition
May 04, 2019 / Lavinia Ding
https://www.irinsider.org/east-asia-1/2019/5/4/south-korean-national-assembly-fast-tracks-reform-bills-amid-conservative-opposition

여야4당 내일 선거법개정안 발의…한국당 극렬 반발
입력 : 2019.04.23 18:19:53
https://www.mk.co.kr/news/politics/view/2019/04/253734/

[속보] 국회 정개특위서 ‘선거법 개정안’ 가결
등록 :2019-08-29 11:20
http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/assembly/907622.html

Updates:

JTBC reported on its Live program (Oct. 13) tonight, that questioning of the relevant prosecutor by the committee responsible for the fast track process disclosed that the prosecutor's office was not certain of the scope of legislative immunity as applied to the disruptive conduct of Liberty Korea Party representatives in the assembly building last April, and that this may affect whether or not warrants for compulsory appearance before investigators was forthcoming.

Cho Kuk resigned today (Oct. 14).