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As lawmakers turn to lawfare, political dialogue the first casualty

Published: 17 Mar. 2025, 16:42

LEE SOO-JUNG
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Liberal lawmakers hold documents to file a complaint against Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung at the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials in Gwacheon, Gyeonggi this month. [NEWS1]

A total of 33 lawmakers were subject to civil and criminal complaints filed by rival lawmakers in the wake of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law imposition, fueling criticism that parliamentarians are relying on judicial power instead of solving conflict through dialogue and negotiation -— the essence of politics.

The conservative People Power Party (PPP) reported 19 lawmakers from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) to law enforcement authorities on charges of mistreating witnesses involved in the martial law incident.

On the other hand, the DP accused 14 PPP lawmakers mostly on charges of colluding in or justifying Yoon's martial law imposition.

On March 7, the PPP reported DP Reps. Kim Byung-joo, Park Beom-kye, Park Sun-won and Boo Seung-chan, claiming they had forced Special Warfare Commander Kwak Jong-geun to confess details of the martial law against his will and had suborned the commander to commit perjury. Kwak is suspected of deploying armed troops to the National Assembly on the day when martial law was declared.

The DP returned fire by accusing pro-Yoon PPP Reps. Na Kyung-won, Yoon Sang-hyun and Park Sang-woong of justifying the declaration of martial law.

The accusations have even reached the parties' leadership.

PPP interim leader Kwon Young-se was accused of defamation, and floor leader Kweon Seong-dong was accused of justifying martial law. DP leader Lee Jae-myung and floor leader Park Chan-dae faced complaints of defamation and making false accusations.

That one in ten lawmakers faces complaints filed by their political opponents “symbolically represents how politics are malfunctioning with politicians leaving everything to the judiciary,” Prof. Choi Chang-ryul at Yong In University said.

Outside the parliament, the DP also filed complaints against some 100 people, such as presidential and governmental officials, military officers, conservative protesters and pro-Yoon supporters.

Conservative People Power Party lawmakers hold a press conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul and announce to file complaint against Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office For High-ranking Officials, this month. [YONHAP]

Even investigation authorities have become targets of a parliamentary fight.

The PPP reported Oh Dong-woon, chief of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), to the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office on charges of illegally detaining the president and abusing his power.

The DP and other minor liberal parties also filed a complaint against Prosecutor General Shim Woo-jung to the CIO, alleging that Shim abused his power in releasing President Yoon from Seoul Detention Center.

The JoongAng Ilbo’s report said the enthusiasm for filing complaints narrows the possibility of bipartisan dialogue.

Little progress has been made in the legislature, with both parties only just agreeing to reform perimeter elements in the national pension scheme after a year of discussion.

Recently, the DP railroaded the passage of an amendment bill to the Commercial Act while enacting the special act for the semiconductor industry keeps getting delayed.

“Both ruling and opposition parties ran to the judiciary or the Constitutional Court but expressed their distrust toward judicial institutions whenever situations turned out unfavorable to them,” Lee Jun-han, international relations professor at Incheon National University, said.

The professor said lawmakers have created a political void by excessively relying on judicial power.

BY SOHN GUK-HEE, KANG BO-HYUN, CHO SU-BIN [[email protected]]