Jang Dong-hyuk: "The Public Is Fed Up with the Insurrection Special Investigation"

Jang Dong-hyuk, chairman of the People Power Party, pushed back on Wednesday against reports that President Lee Jae-myung would form a special investigation team (a temporary body dedicated to probing a specific case) into the insurrection case immediately after returning from abroad, saying, "The public is truly fed up now. How long are they going to keep flogging a worn-out insurrection narrative?" At an emergency press conference held at the National Assembly that afternoon, Jang argued that Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok's reference to "leftover insurrection forces" when he brought up appointing a special prosecutor (a prosecutor tasked with investigating and indicting a specific case) against Chief Justice Jo Hee-de was a last-ditch effort to block the resumption of President Lee's trial. He also dismissed the condemnation press conference held that day by Democratic Party floor leader Han Byung-do and National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chairman Seo Young-kyo in front of the Supreme Court building in Seocho, Seoul, against Chief Justice Jo as mere posturing.

Jang said, "Street rallies are what an opposition party does when it lacks enough seats and cannot get anything done no matter what it tries," adding, "If the Democratic Party keeps dragging out the tired insurrection frame, for every one supporter they win back, ten members of the public will walk away."

Jang also raised the landmine explosion in the DMZ. He claimed he had attempted to visit the accident site along the western front in the Demilitarized Zone on Wednesday morning, one day before the Chuseok holiday, but was denied access by the Defense Ministry. "The landmine that exploded was not detected by detection equipment, and the soldier suffered serious injuries even while wearing blast-protective overboots," he said. "It is virtually certain that this was a North Korean wooden-box landmine." He urged, "The Defense Ministry and the military must immediately release the findings of their investigation and respond firmly, including by resuming psychological warfare broadcasts toward North Korea."