Opposition Parties Mount Final Pressure, Urging President to Veto Criminal Procedure Act

[Anchor]

Conservative opposition parties, including the People Power Party, strongly protested, declaring that South Korea's rule of law has received a death sentence. They urged President Lee Jae-myung to exercise his veto power against the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act.

Here is reporter Kim Bo-mi.

[Reporter]

Today (August 3), as President Lee Jae-myung returned to Korea after concluding his tour of the United States and three South American countries, the People Power Party held an on-site Supreme Council meeting in front of the presidential office.

The People Power Party urged the president to exercise his veto, denouncing the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act passed by the National Assembly as a "vicious law that only benefits criminals."

[Jang Dong-hyeok / Leader, People Power Party : South Korea's rule of law has received a death sentence. If he refuses to exercise his veto, demands for impeachment will grow even stronger.]

The People Power Party launched its offensive by raising issues regarding the addition of grounds for dismissal of indictment in the amendment.

[Jung Jeom-sik / Floor Leader, People Power Party : The very first thing the president must take care of is halting the ugly deal with the Democratic Party aimed at getting his own trials canceled.]

The New Reform Party also urged President Lee to exercise his veto. Citing its own poll results showing that more than 80 percent of the 2030 generation view the amendment negatively, the party exerted pressure as follows:

[Lee Jun-seok / Leader, New Reform Party : If he does not use the veto, this law will remain not only as 'a law made by the Democratic Party' but also as 'a law that the president failed to block.']

If President Lee promulgates the amendment without exercising his veto, the People Power Party plans to file a petition for a constitutional review with the Constitutional Court, meaning that the political battle surrounding the revision of the Criminal Procedure Act is expected to continue onto the stage of the Constitutional Court.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News)
(Video reported by Lee Seung-hwan and Shin Dong-hwan | Video edited by Yu Mi-ra | Design by Seo Hyun-jung)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.