'Democracy and rule of law are dead': PPP gears up for street protests after filibuster

Filibuster against 'fabricated indictment' special prosecutor act nears end

PPP to hold rallies outside National Assembly, Gyeongbokgung, Cheong Wa Dae

Party aims to erode Lee's approval rating through sustained street campaign

People Power Party lawmaker Park Hyeong-su speaks during an unlimited debate — a filibuster — on a bill to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of fabricated investigations and indictments by the prosecution, the National Intelligence Service and the Board of Audit and Inspection under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, at a plenary session of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Thursday. National Assembly Speaker Jo Jeong-sik (left) is seen leaving the chamber. (Yun Chang-bin)

The People Power Party is set to launch street protests immediately after its filibuster against the so-called "fabricated indictment" special prosecutor act concludes Friday, escalating its offensive against the ruling Democratic Party.

PPP Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik criticized President Lee Jae Myung at a party floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly on Friday, saying that at 9 p.m. Thursday — the very moment the filibuster against the removal of the presidential trial was under way in the main chamber — Lee's YouTube program "President's Y" aired for the first time. "The president orchestrated the Democratic Party's constitution-destroying parliamentary coup and then staged a grand show of communicating with the people through YouTube," Jeong said.

The filibuster began Thursday at 3:59 p.m. after National Assembly Speaker Jo Jeong-sik declared the start of unlimited debate. The first speaker was PPP lawmaker Park Hyeong-su, who leads his party's side on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Park declared, "Today, democracy and the rule of law in the Republic of Korea are dead," and spoke for about seven hours and 20 minutes laying out his objections to the special prosecutor bill.

Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Geon-tae then took the floor in support of the bill, and the filibuster continued through the night. The Democratic Party submitted a motion to end the unlimited debate simultaneously with its start on Thursday. Under Assembly rules, the debate can be closed if at least three-fifths of all registered members — 180 seats — vote in favor 24 hours after the motion is filed.

The PPP has vowed to continue its fight against the ruling party outside the Assembly even after the filibuster ends. PPP Secretary General Jeong Hui-yong told the floor strategy meeting that the party was "informing the public of the problems and unconstitutional elements of the special prosecutor act through the filibuster, standing against the Democratic Party's legislative rampage that seeks to undermine the rule of law."

The PPP announced it would hold a public rally condemning what it called the "railroading of a law to cancel President Lee Jae Myung's trial" on the steps of the National Assembly's main building at around 3 p.m. Friday, when the filibuster is expected to end.

The party plans to hold an outdoor rally near Gyeongbokgung Station on Saturday and convene a field supreme council meeting in front of Cheong Wa Dae on Monday, further ratcheting up pressure on the government.

A field general assembly of lawmakers is also scheduled in front of Cheong Wa Dae on Tuesday, when the special prosecutor act is expected to clear a Cabinet meeting. PPP Chief Floor Spokesperson Choe Su-jin told reporters after a party caucus on Thursday that the party would "assess the situation and continue the fight on the ground starting next week."

PPP Floor Leader Jeong Jeom-sik speaks outside the main chamber of the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on Thursday, after the "fabricated indictment" special prosecutor bill and other legislation were placed on the plenary agenda. (Lee Sang-seop)

Voices within the party are calling for the street campaign to extend well beyond a one-off event, urging that it be sustained throughout the duration of the special prosecutor investigation.

A senior member of the PPP's floor leadership told The Herald Business by phone that while it was "only natural" for the Democratic Party to end the filibuster, the real question was how the PPP would conduct its street campaign afterward. "Since the special prosecutor investigation runs for 200 days, we need to focus during that period on driving down President Lee Jae Myung's approval rating through street protests," the lawmaker said.

The plan is to sustain a public opinion campaign outside the Assembly in tandem with the launch of the special prosecutor investigation, keeping the fabricated-indictment issue alive as a long-term front in the opposition's fight against the ruling party.

Political observers say the PPP is expected to go further than the filibuster-centered approach it took in its anti-government campaign in late July.

At that time, the Democratic Party had put to a plenary vote a revision to the Criminal Procedure Act centered on abolishing the prosecution's supplementary investigative powers, and the PPP had responded with a filibuster.

The PPP is currently focused on building momentum for the street campaign. PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok visited Olympic Park on Thursday and appealed to supporters, saying, "The day all of Lee Jae Myung's crimes are erased is the day the Republic of Korea is erased. We must prevent that, must we not?"

raining@heraldcorp.com