People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok said Wednesday that remarks made by fellow PPP lawmaker Seo Beom-su at a National Assembly forum on Tuesday — where Seo sparked controversy with inappropriate comments during a discussion on abolishing supplementary investigative powers — were "dragging down the People Power Party's approval rating."
Speaking at a press conference at the National Assembly, Jang said the incident was "something that should never have happened, beyond any question of approval ratings."
"This shows a complete failure to empathize with what the bill abolishing supplementary investigative powers means to victims of serious crimes and to ordinary citizens who could become such victims," he said. "It is a remark that should never have been made, even by mistake."
Jang added that the forum had been convened specifically to raise concerns about the bill after it cleared a Cabinet meeting. "On the very day the bill passed the Cabinet, holding a forum and forcing victims — who had to suppress their anger just to speak — to hear the same arguments again must have been deeply painful in itself," he said.
Jang also criticized police for carrying out a search and seizure at Starbucks Korea on Wednesday, calling it a "bottom-of-the-barrel investigation." He argued that Tuesday's passage of the bill abolishing supplementary investigative powers "flung wide open the door for this kind of reckless policing to become routine," adding that police had "made crystal clear to the public, in less than a day, exactly why we distrusted them and opposed abolishing supplementary investigative powers."
Turning to single-stock leveraged ETFs — which have been blamed for recent sharp swings in share prices — Jang urged the ruling party to accept a parliamentary investigation and a special prosecutor probe, saying authorities must determine "whether there was lobbying or improper solicitation involved in the introduction process."
"If Kim Yong-beom, the Cheong Wa Dae policy chief, pushed through leveraged ETFs despite concerns raised by the Financial Services Commission and the Financial Supervisory Service, we have to suspect something else is going on," Jang said. "We need to go beyond a parliamentary investigation and pursue a special prosecutor."
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