On February 21, Joo Ho-young, floor leader of the People Power Party (PPP) said, “Let’s open an extraordinary session on March 6 or 13, and in the meantime, Democratic Party of Korea leader Lee Jae-myung should appear for a warrant review.”

In a meeting to discuss the party’s strategy on the floor at the National Assembly Tuesday, Joo made the suggestion and said, “If the Democratic Party asks to hold a special session on March 1, they are clearly announcing a ‘bulletproof’ session.” Earlier on February 17, the Seoul Central District Court sent a motion for Lee’s arrest to the Prosecution Service. The motion was reviewed by the Supreme Prosecutors’ Office and the Ministry of Justice before President Yoon Suk-yeol approved it on Monday. When the motion is sent to the National Assembly, it will be reported in a parliamentary session on February 24 and be put to a vote three days later. When a majority of the lawmakers vote in favor of the motion with more than half of the registered lawmakers present, then authorities can arrest Lee.

The PPP floor leader said, “An extraordinary session has continued in February, but the Democratic Party is already mentioning a special session in March.” He explained, “A special session opened on August 16, 2022, and if it lasts until the end of this month, the parliamentary session will have been open for 197 days without a day’s break.” Joo argued that the extraordinary session was opened after the end of the regular session solely because of the Democratic Party’s attempt to bulletproof Lee. He said, “They talk about the people’s livelihoods and the economy, but they have actually initiated legislation contrary to the people’s economic activities. A special session was opened, but in fact, there were many days when the lawmakers did not work.” Joo said, “The Democratic Party claims it will not take advantage of parliamentary immunity, but some Democratic Party lawmakers said they could not abandon the privilege because it was a constitutional right.” He argued, “They don’t have to give it up. We can solve all the problems by opening a special session on March 6 or 13 and by having Lee appear for his warrant review in the meantime.”

After the meeting, Joo Ho-young met with reporters and said, “If the Democratic Party is a rational political party with reason, they have to pass the arrest motion.” He warned, “Our people have forced two former presidents to stand trial. If the Democratic Party blocks the warrant review just because he is the leader of the opposition party, they won’t be able to deal with the consequences.” The PPP lawmaker also said, “Given the gravity of the issue and risks of destroying evidence, we think it is very likely for the court to issue the warrant,” and argued, “That is why he (Lee Jae-myung) is afraid of the review itself.”

In the meeting Tuesday, the party’s secretary general Kim Seok-ki said, “They say that Lee even told first-time legislators not to worry about their candidate nominations in the parliamentary election in a meeting of the party’s rookie lawmakers.” He claimed that Lee was using the candidate nominations to threaten first-time legislators ahead of the vote in the National Assembly. Kim said, “While the entire Democratic Party with its 169 seats engages in a struggle to bulletproof Lee Jae-myung, everything concerning our economy and the people’s livelihoods has been sucked into the Lee Jae-myung issue like a blackhole,” and added, “The leader of the major opposition party denying the basics of the rule of law and cowardly hiding behind the party and supporters is truly shameful.”

Yang Kum-hee, senior spokesperson for the People Power Party released a comment Tuesday and said, “If the prosecutors’ investigation and the arrest warrant request are unjust, he can prove it in court and receive the court’s judgment.” She further said, “The Democratic Party is crying that the people’s livelihood hangs by a thread, yet they are actually stepping up as Lee Jae-myung’s personal law firm.” Yang argued that if Lee was innocent, he should abandon any orders to mobilize lawmakers and his parliamentary immunity and receive the judgment of the court. She added, “Are they going to protect a single party leader or are they going to protect the people? It is now the Democratic Party’s time.”