Ex-PPP floor leader ‘won’t hide behind immunity’ in martial law probe
Published: 04 Nov. 2025, 15:44
Updated: 04 Nov. 2025, 18:21
![Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party listens to remarks by party leader Jang Dong-hyuk during a lawmakers' meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 4. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/04/a4744827-4639-44da-acc0-7d5ee37a5bc8.jpg)
Rep. Choo Kyung-ho of the People Power Party listens to remarks by party leader Jang Dong-hyuk during a lawmakers' meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 4. [YONHAP]
People Power Party (PPP) Rep. Choo Kyung-ho said on Tuesday that he would not hide behind his parliamentary immunity in the face of a motion for his arrest filed by the prosecution in the Dec. 3 martial law investigation.
“I will face this head-on without hiding behind the privilege of immunity,” Choo told reporters after attending a party lawmakers' meeting at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul. “I promised the public I would forgo my immunity, and I intend to keep that promise this time as well.”
On Monday, special prosecutor Cho sought a pretrial detention warrant for Choo, who served as the ruling party’s floor leader during the Dec. 3 martial law plot in 2024. The warrant request alleges that Choo engaged in insurrection.
“There are even claims that we held the lawmakers' meeting in the budget committee chamber so lawmakers could not attend the plenary session,” Choo said in response to the allegations. “But we alternate with the Democratic Party [DP] between that room and room 246 in the main building.”
He added, “It was our turn to use the budget committee room that day [...] yet the prosecution is including that as part of some scheme to prevent attendance.”
![Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, center, of the People Power Party attends a general meeting of party lawmakers at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 4. [YONHAP]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2025/11/04/9f8837e1-3d51-4393-a00e-14f1d5f3df19.jpg)
Rep. Choo Kyung-ho, center, of the People Power Party attends a general meeting of party lawmakers at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Nov. 4. [YONHAP]
Choo denounced the probe as politically motivated, saying that “it reeks of a politically driven investigation tailored to the DP’s demands.”
“A few senior PPP lawmakers had dinner there that night,” Choo said regarding an informal meeting at the presidential residence in Hannam-dong four days before Yoon declared martial law. “I joined briefly after a dinner with political reporters in Yeouido.”
He claimed “there were many others present, including lawmakers and senior presidential aides,” and called the meeting “just a light dinner gathering, not a setting for serious discussions about martial law or state affairs.”
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY KIM EUN-BIN [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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