PPP Fumes at Kim Seung-won's Remarks on Reviewing Party Dissolution, Calling It 'Barefaced Audacity'
When Justice Minister nominee Kim Seung-won indicated that, upon taking office, he would review whether the People Power Party (PPP) meets the requirements for party dissolution (the legal standard for whether a party has undermined the democratic basic order set by the Constitution), the PPP protested on the 14th, calling it "chokbanhajang" — the audacity of the wrongdoer to lash out in anger.
The controversy began with a written question during the personnel confirmation process. In response to a written inquiry from Democratic Party Rep. Kim Yong-min, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, titled 'Plans Regarding a Petition to Dissolve the PPP,' the nominee answered: "If I take office, I will closely examine the progress of the case in light of the intent of the Constitutional Court's ruling and review whether the requirements are met."
Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun pushed back on Facebook, saying, "Go ahead and try, if you dare." On social media, he wrote: "It is the people who pass judgment on a political party through elections. Go ahead and try. The moment you draw a sword to eliminate the main opposition party, the end of this administration will only draw closer." He pointed out that it makes no sense for someone who has argued for dropping the charges against the president to also review whether to dissolve the main opposition party, and criticized the attempt to scrutinize and eliminate the largest opposition party using state power as something that shakes the very foundation of democracy.
Rep. Na Kyung-won said the episode was "adding insult to injury," noting that it has given the nominee yet another reason to step down. She pointed out that while she had thought Kim was merely trying to erase the president's guilt by dropping the charges, he now seeks to erase the opposition's very existence by reviewing the requirements for unconstitutional party dissolution. Rep. Na said that if anything, the Constitutional dissolution review should target the Basic Income Party, which entered the National Assembly through a satellite-party scheme exploiting the semi-proportional representation system.
