■ Host: anchor Sung Moon-gyu
■ Appearance: Yoon Hee-seok, former spokesman for People's Power, Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee
* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN News Special] when quoting.
[Anchor]
The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit today requested an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol. A warrant review will be held tomorrow. The ruling and opposition parties have voiced mixed opinions over the results. Today, I will speak with Yoon Hee-seok, former spokesman for People's Power, and Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee. Please come in. The request for an arrest warrant from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is 45 days after the emergency martial law incident. It's been two days since President Yoon was arrested. It's been a few days. It's actually the first time in constitutional history and it's a record of history, so I have no choice but to keep saying this. How did you see the warrant claim today?
[Yoon Heesuk]
Everything is happening for the first time ever. Following the arrest, the incumbent president is on the verge of arrest. Of course, it may be the principle of our judicial system to arrest suspects because of the need for an investigation.What does Ma mean by arresting and investigating the incumbent president, who can be seen as having little or no fear of fleeing and destroying evidence? If you think about what can be gained from disgracing the incumbent president like that, I'm very sorry about the request for an arrest warrant. Of course, I agree with the principle that the investigation itself should be fair and more detailed.I would like to say first that no one from the people will have a good view on this request for an arrest warrant.
[Anchor]
Let's continue to divide the results.How do you see Ma?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
It's a pity. It is unfortunate that the incumbent president has been requested an arrest warrant following an arrest warrant. However, I would like to say that all of this was brought on by President Yoon Suk Yeol. Because if President Yoon Suk Yeol had responded to the summons and cooperated with the search and seizure of the residence or the presidential office, I don't think it would have led to arrest or detention. However, since the Democratic Party has continued to obstruct the investigation by denying the Korean judicial system beyond the fact that it is virtually uncooperative, why is there no fear of destroying evidence from the perspective of the Democratic Party? Because none of the non-phone servers known to be in the president's office, personal memos or cell phones have been secured as investigative data, I think the president may have destroyed such evidence and there is a good chance he will continue to destroy them. That's why they argue that the president who doesn't cooperate is inevitably under arrest investigation.
[Anchor]
I see. In the midst of this today, President Yoon is still in Seoul Detention Center. I published another article in the form of a prison letter here. If you look at it, there are about 196 characters or 5 sentences today, and among them, it's a bit cold. It's a little uncomfortable, but I'm doing well in the detention center. I heard that many people are coming out to the cold streets and gathering strength for the country. I sent a message saying thank you for your passionate patriotism. How should we read this letter? I think we need to read a little bit about how President Yoon feels now.
[Yoon Heesuk]
That's right. On New Year's Day on January 1, President Yoon sent a letter to those protesting outside his Hannam-dong residence. Since then, he has consistently expressed his gratitude to the people who have supported him outside. Through that, I have expressed various thoughts about why I had to do this, and the reason for the invocation of such emergency martial law. It is said that this kind of message is intended to unite the supporters, but President Yoon is not in a situation where he can unite the supporters and do something politically, right? As a purely incumbent president, I had no choice but to do something with the heart of serving my country. And I think this situation is my intention to preach more justification for my actions to the people by once again expressing my will that it is very unfair and close to illegality, which I think was arrested by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the Western District Court.
[Anchor]
Right now, spokesperson Yoon said no.The opposing camp continues to say that this was intended to gather supporters.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's the only way to look at it. And I'd like to say that I'm really sorry about the contents of the letter, even though it's not the first time the letter has been apologized. I would like to say that it is very regrettable that on December 3rd, unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law scared many people, and even though many people have taken to the streets in this cold weather and voiced their voices, they have not apologized for it. In my last letter, I sent a message aimed at conservative supporters, saying they are just patriotic citizens instead of citizens, but this time they are citizens. However, in the end, if you look at the contents behind it, I am grateful because those who came out on the streets and among the people are showing patriotism. In the end, I would like to say that this is also inappropriate because it is not a message as a president representing the entire people, but only to the conservative supporters who are out on the streets for themselves. Lastly, he said that he was looking back on what kind of messages he sent today, Independence Day, and the past, but if you look at the messages at that time, there were always anti-state forces. So, since then, the president has consistently been unable to run the country due to anti-state forces. State administration is not working because of anti-state forces. If you say these things and end up going to the emergency martial law, will you be able to reflect on the current situation even if you look back on them? Rather, I'm telling you that I have no choice but to see it as a message to unite conservative supporters because it shows the feeling that I'm holding my heart by looking at it, not reflecting on and regretting the past. [Anchor] You're asking me to speak up a little more.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right.
President
[Anchor]
Yoon has a warrant review tomorrow, and he was interested in attending, but he seems to have decided not to attend. In the meantime, he said he would actively plead if an arrest warrant was requested, even if it was not an arrest warrant, but why did he say it wouldn't come out?
[Yoon Heesuk]
First of all, aren't you questioning court jurisdiction? First of all, the President of Yoon Suk Yeol requests, issues, and executes investigations and arrest warrants. In other words, starting with the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the request, issuance, and execution of arrest warrants by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. I keep talking about the problem consciousness about all the procedures. I guess it started with how the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, which has no investigative power and no prosecution power against the president, can claim an arrest warrant even though it does not have the right to investigate rebellion. In addition, the court that requested it was not the Seoul Central District Court, which is the jurisdiction of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, but a very small part of the exception rule was submitted to the Seoul Western District Court, which has jurisdiction over Hannam-dong, President Yoon's residence. But, of course, the tendency of the judges of the Western District Court, those things are very partisan. We continue to take issue with this recognition, but the Western District Court has now issued an arrest warrant. So it means that illegal and unfair procedures are continuing. So I can't respond. It expresses the injustice and illegality with the body as not responding to unjust procedures.
[Anchor]
But didn't the Central District Court dismiss the arrest suit yesterday? With this, didn't the judiciary once again recognize the suitability and legality of the warrant?
[Yoon Heesuk]
I think the two things are carved. The legitimacy of the arrest has been acknowledged for now. The other thing is that the jurisdiction issue has been resolved, but even so, President Yoon can also take issue with the arrest warrant to the Western District Court, which could cause another problem. Of course, because the Central District Court rejected the arrest suit, he said he had no problem with the validity of the arrest warrant issued by the Western District Court.An arrest warrant could be another story.
[Anchor]
Arrest warrants and arrest warrants are different.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
In fact, I've been talking about jurisdiction, but according to Article 31 of the Public Offices Act, there's no illegality at all in the Western District Court as the jurisdiction of the residence. And the judge who issued the first arrest warrant, the judge who issued the second arrest warrant, the other judge. Two judges have now acknowledged this, and another judge in the Seoul Central District Court has said it's okay. And this time, the examination of the arrest warrant will be conducted by another on-duty judge, not the two warrant issuing judges, who will appear on the weekend. That's why if the judge who examines this arrest warrant is included, a total of four judges will acknowledge that there is no jurisdiction or problem of investigative authority. In fact, even though each judge is a very important part of the credibility as a judicial institution and a constitutional institution, what was it like today's supporters to continue talking about the judges being so discredited as if they were biased toward a certain orientation? In the case of a judge who rushed to the Western District Court to demonstrate in such a way and ruled against the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday, is it fair for the president to undermine the trust of the judiciary? I will read that I do not have the will to protect the Constitution. I think it will have a negative impact.
[Anchor]
That's what I'm saying. So, there have been cases where President Yoon continues to raise objections to the judiciary's judgment, but for example, the Constitutional Court has served documents on the impeachment trial and has not been receiving them. I don't know if I didn't get it.Ma, by the way, regarded it as a service, and just yesterday, he was so proud of his arrest. So, there is talk of losing nine out of nine against the judiciary, so where is the reason for raising the issue like this?
[Yoon Heesuk]
The fact that it has been mentioned several times that it has not been received by the Constitutional Court, perhaps because of the time constraints that can be prepared, I have not been able to receive it physically to some extent, which I see as such. I think that and the dispute with the court are different in character. As I said, that's what the Constitution is like. Regarding this court, as well as regarding the arrest warrant, didn't the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit continue to be judged without the defect being healed? It led to a sense of pride in arrest and even a request for an arrest warrant. So, from President Yoon's point of view, we cannot continue to respond properly to the procedural Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and various judicial procedures from the court because they continue to be defective.
[Anchor]
However, from President Yoon's point of view, I think that this uncooperative attitude toward the investigation and impeachment proceedings can affect the warrant review and impeachment trial.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
I think it will have an adverse effect. It's already the ninth time. So, five cases were filed in the Constitutional Court alone and four cases in the general court, and all were rejected. In fact, it is a situation that can be seen as 9 out of 9 losses, and we saw the impeachment decision of President Park Geun Hye in 2017, the judge said, but this person has no will to protect the constitution. President Yoon Suk Yeol has to resist something in the judicial system, protest and appeal in the judicial system, but it is like violating the Constitution to judge something by himself and to me, who is a former legal professional, to judge that this is illegal. In this case, if this continues to drag on for a while and somehow undermine the credibility of the judiciary, will the hard-line supporters who continued to run in front of the Western District Court or the residence admit this regardless of the results? This attitude of the President to create a culture and create an atmosphere in which he can object to the results of the Constitution and the judiciary in a constitutional state in Korea. I think it's going to have a very negative impact on the impeachment trial because it's going to be very negative in the Constitutional Court.
[Anchor]
If so, I'm quite curious about what the warrant will be like tomorrow, but the schedule will start at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has prepared a warrant solidly now, and 7 prosecutors will attend tomorrow. There were three people in the last arrest warrant, and they prepared a lot, so they seem to be showing considerable confidence, what do you expect?
[Yoon Heesuk]
First of all, the investigative authorities will try to carry out the arrest of the incumbent president with all their might. If we look at the requirements for issuing an arrest warrant, we are concerned about the destruction of evidence and flight. Don't you see these two the biggest? If you think about whether the incumbent president can do that, I can tell you whether there is a need to arrest him and investigate him, but this issue is very serious. A crime of rebellion because the crime of rebellion is a charge. Therefore, I think the warrant judge will judge how the warrant judge will judge that part according to the law and according to his own conscience. In any case, in the process of requesting an arrest warrant, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has not been properly investigated to see if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was able to prepare and explain to the court, so we will wait and see the results.
[Anchor]
So, the criteria for whether or not an arrest warrant is issued will be, as you just said, the fear of flight, the destruction of evidence, and how much the charges will be clarified, what do you think, Vice-Chairman?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
In my opinion, I don't think the concern of escape is a matter to be considered that way. I don't think there will be an idea that an incumbent president will run away anywhere. However, as I said earlier, there is enough concern about the destruction of evidence. And because he continues to exercise his right to refuse to make statements at the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the investigation into the president was not carried out. However, important mission workers who can be called common criminals. Those who were contacted by former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun or the president on personal non-phone and carried out the order. All those people's testimonies are now available in the data. In a way, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was trying to conduct investigations to confirm such things, but isn't the president refusing it now? From that point of view, it is sufficient as a reason for requesting this arrest warrant. Because, according to the testimony given by the key mission workers, it can be inferred that the president has sufficient evidence or such things, but since he continues to refuse these things and is uncooperative so that he cannot search and seizure, he will rule that an arrest investigation will need to confirm them.
[Anchor]
Anyway, for interpretation, and the spokesperson said that.Ma continues to emphasize inappropriateness and illegality of the Western District Court, so if a warrant is issued after the real warrant examination, is there a possibility that he will be arrested like a warrant arrest suit or an arrest suit yesterday?
[Yoon Heesuk]
There's a good chance of that. Even in the case of an arrest suit, in fact, the statute of limitations for an arrest warrant is only 48 hours, so it's not very profitable, right? So I didn't expect to apply for an arrest suit, but I suddenly applied again yesterday. So perhaps President Yoon's idea will resist this procedural injustice by all means possible. So, all the procedures that can be done will go through, maybe they have this will. If so, there is a high possibility of binding pride, I think so.
[Anchor]
However, I wonder if I will respond to the investigation if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit or the police continue to investigate after the arrest.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
I'll be uncooperative with the investigation. And I think I can probably file another objection even after the application for legality. Because didn't the president actually file an objection before the execution of the arrest warrant? Originally, objections are not made before, but if there is an illegality in the process after the arrest warrant and arrest warrant are executed, an objection can be filed. Therefore, there is a possibility that the president will file an objection, arguing that there is something illegal in the process of executing the arrest warrant and the execution of the arrest warrant. Then we can delay the time again. In the event of an arrest investigation, half of the prosecution and half of the prosecution will be the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. Since the agencies agreed on this, it could be uncooperative in the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, and there is a possibility that they will respond to the prosecution's investigation, which has the final right to prosecute, in order to exercise their defense rights. Because if you continue to exercise your right to refuse to make statements at a time when the allegations of rebellion by important mission workers are getting stronger, you may not be able to exercise your right to defend yourself. Then at some point, I think that at some point in the 20 days of the arrest investigation, we will certainly start to respond to defend something.
[Anchor]
In the investigation of the day before yesterday by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, he continued to exercise his right to remain silent and selectively talked about his martial law justification. That seems to have a point. Along with this, what was very interested in the National Assembly today is the special prosecution law. The floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties negotiated the Special Counsel Act on the emergency martial law, but it ended up breaking down. Is it a definite breakdown today?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
In fact, the Democratic Party is thinking of passing it at today's plenary session if it breaks down. That's why we don't know until the last minute, considering that we haven't heard the news that it's passed yet. As far as I know, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik is continuing his calls to narrow down a little bit. That's why I still wonder if it's a final breakdown until I finally hear that the Democratic Party just passed the plenary session on its own.
[Anchor]
Can you show us your ticket again? Spokesman Yoon, so how are the martial law special prosecution laws different now in preparation for the ruling party's proposal, the martial law law law, and the opposition party's civil war law?
[Yoon Heesuk]
First of all, the name is different. In the case of the Civil War Special Prosecutor Act issued by the Democratic Party, the scope of the investigation is very wide so that the investigation can be conducted from the invocation of the emergency martial law order to the act of commanding civil war to the act of foreign exchange crimes, and what we have recognized in the middle of the investigation. It is very broad, but the martial law special prosecutor law prepared by our party excludes the part related to civil war from the law that the Democratic Party of Korea has proposed now and also excludes the part related to foreign exchange crimes. In conclusion, the number of investigators will be reduced a lot because only the part related to the invocation of martial law is done over the scope of the investigation. The number decreased by nearly 100 to 58 and 155 on the Democratic side.
[Anchor]
The number of investigators has decreased even more than the draft of the ruling party.
[Yoon Heesuk]
It's decreased a lot. Accordingly, the investigation period was reduced from 150 days to a maximum of 110 days. So, the logic of our party's special prosecutor law is to reduce it a little and let's go to a special prosecutor that can approach the substance faster.
[Anchor]
To say that it broke down now, what issue did this get caught on?
[Yoon Heesuk]
I think it might have been caught within the scope of the investigation. Perhaps the Democratic Party of Korea expressed its intention to remove the foreign exchange crime part that was added in the middle, considering the extent of the first rejection, but from our party's point of view, the scope of the investigation was also rejected in the first round because there is a logic that we could not receive it because the scope of the investigation was too wide, so we cannot receive it from our point of view if we do not reduce it. I think that's probably the logic.
[Anchor]
It cannot be accepted except for the crime of foreign exchange, from the power of the people.
[Yoon Heesuk]
In fact, a special prosecutor should be established as an exception and supplement, but the investigation has already been conducted by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, arrested, requested an arrest warrant, and the process is underway, and we can also talk about the practical benefit of making a special prosecutor in the middle to stop it and hand it over to the special prosecutor to conduct this investigation. So, let's proceed with the martial law special prosecution law, not this, but because the Democratic Party of Korea may pass the Insurrection Special Prosecutor Act, which has a wide range of investigations that we cannot accept with the power of the number of seats, so we prepared the proposal as a second choice. Our martial law special prosecutor law also doesn't mean that let's pass it perfectly and do it as it is. In conclusion, it was quite difficult to negotiate because we were negative in this situation, and it was very difficult for the Democratic Party to accept, so I didn't expect much from the beginning that it could be agreed today.
[Anchor]
I can hear spokesman Yoon like this right now. First of all, I proposed it, but rather than finding a point of contact with the Democratic Party and passing it, I think you thought there was no possibility of passing it if the Democratic Party did not accept our proposal, from the beginning.
[Yoon Heesuk]
Since there are so many seats in the Democratic Party of Korea, why don't we let them pass anything to pass something? Without it, we don't need an independent counsel. However, the opposition party is in a position to pass the special prosecution law in this situation. Then, from our point of view, it is a choice to reduce the part that we cannot accept to the minimum and pass it, from our point of view, to avoid the worst.
[Anchor]
The Democratic Party of Korea said that it is a hard-fought independent counsel law and a scarecrow independent counsel law.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right. It's a special prosecutor that has virtually nothing in it and everything important is missing, so we'll reduce the duration and the number of investigators. In fact, haven't you consistently criticized the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit in the power of the people? It has been pointed out that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is incompetent, but there has been a limitation that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has such limitations because of the small size of the organization and investigation personnel. And as spokesman Yoon pointed out earlier, the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has progressed to some extent over the period because the people have continued to reject the special prosecution to issue this. So even if the independent counsel law passes, those related to rebellion are likely to be prosecuted tomorrow or if the request is accepted, so the independent counsel will not be able to reinvestigate the rebellion. Therefore, if these parts that the Democratic Party claims to be revealed from the Democratic Party's point of view, such as propaganda of civil war, incitement, and foreign exchange, are not included, the meaning of the special prosecutor could be lost. That's why the Democratic Party cannot exclude these two things, and because of those two things, it cannot be received from the people's power. That's why, in fact, I think this is going to a difficult situation to agree on.
[Anchor]
It finally broke down as those positions that could never be given away and could never be received were confronted closely. I think that's what you two think right now. When the ruling party's proposal was proposed today, it was proposed by the party, but the total number of lawmakers was 108 minutes, but 104 people signed it. Four minutes are missing. What are their positions?
[Yoon Heesuk]
They're like this. As I said, a special prosecutor should be established when there is a need to supplement something exceptional, really exceptional, supplementary and very specific about the investigation of an investigative agency, and this should not be passed by the National Assembly for political reasons. He emphasized that principle. The conclusion is that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is investigating the president, an arrest warrant was issued, and an arrest warrant was issued, so why do we set up a new special prosecutor and do it again when the investigation is complete. Another question is, is it politically and deliberately correct if the party proposed an independent counsel bill to investigate the president produced by our party and passed it? I understand that they didn't sign these two parts because they were problematic.
[Anchor]
As mentioned earlier, all the people involved have been indicted, the president has been arrested, and who will the special prosecutor investigate?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
The scope of the special prosecutor's investigation, which the Democratic Party of Korea claims earlier, includes not only the crime of rebellion, propaganda of rebellion, sedition, and foreign exchange, but the current Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is not investigating the crime of foreign exchange, propaganda of rebellion, and sedition, following the abuse of authority related to the crime of rebellion. Investigations should also be conducted on such things. That's why I'm arguing that an independent counsel is needed.
[Anchor]
In the end, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik said he felt that he should lock the door by 12 o'clock today to discuss it.Ma is not making any more progress and the Democrats then pass the Democratic bill alone?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
I understand that it will pass today. Because if we can't do it today, seven ruling and opposition lawmakers will leave for the inauguration of President Trump in the U.S. tomorrow, so there is a realistic part where it is difficult to vote on this or do such things after that, so I actually told the people that today is the deadline. So, if negotiations continue to break down before 12 o'clock today, it is expected that the plenary session will be held and passed alone.
[Anchor]
I see. That'll come in a little bit as a breaking news, regardless. That's the Special Prosecutor Act. Let's take a look at the flow of public opinion. Gallup polls are out today. The power of the people was 39% and the Democratic Party was 36%. The power of the people increased by 5 percentage points from the previous week. The Democratic Party has remained the same. So there's a situation that's reversed within the margin of error, and it's not unfamiliar because recent polls are similar. What do you think?
[Yoon Heesuk]
Recently, many polls have shown that our party's approval rating has risen and the Democratic Party's approval rating has fallen sharply, leading to some polls changing their rankings. That's how the Gallup survey came out. In conclusion, this is a situation in which the public cannot accept the political situation led by the Democratic Party for about a month and a half when the impeachment began. What do you mean? The Democratic Party of Korea has taken the initiative and led this political situation so far, but has not shown anything at all and has only gradually increased national confusion. I did Joule Impeachment. And the Constitutional Court also evaluated the behavior of the Democratic Party of Korea, starting with the question of whether to commit rebellion or not, and it was too rough and too impatient, and without responsibility, first of all, I think so. This is very problematic for many conservative supporters who have seen the process of the execution of arrest warrants for President Yoon and the incumbent president. Should we go so far as to address the incumbent president? I agree that there are many problems in terms of defense rights and there are many problems in terms of procedural aspects, so I think you responded to the poll quite well.
[Anchor]
So, you mean that the arrest of President Yoon is reflected in these polls to some extent. How do you see it in the Democratic Party?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
First of all, I think it's right that hard conservative supporters are gathering. However, it is difficult to explain the flow of public opinion with just that. I think there must be a political party factor. What's the factor, it's probably what the Democratic Party has been pursuing over the past few years is a stronger Democratic Party, a stronger Democratic Party, a Democratic Party that can fight better. Because in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, President Yoon Suk Yeol did not recognize the opposition party as an object of cooperation and did not recognize the legislature, so the people ordered the creation of a stronger Democratic Party that could fight it well, but President Yoon Suk Yeol is now being impeached. Then, who should take over the next administration? If the Democratic Party continues to pursue the strong Democratic Party that it has been doing for years now, considering who will run the next state administration, will it be able to run state administration differently from President Yoon Suk Yeol? I'd like to see the Democratic Party express its doubts about whether it's okay to show cooperation with the ruling party and the conservative party. That's why I think it's necessary for the Democratic Party to be more flexible and embrace more diverse voices in the future, and that such a strategy is necessary.
[Anchor]
Let's take a look at the other figures now. How do you expect the results of the next presidential election? 48% of the figures are that there should be a change of government, and the current government should be maintained. Forty percent. That's a little bit less. The difference in quantity was a little bigger. Can you show us the next one? What do you think about President Yoon's impeachment? 57 up for it, 36 down for it. So this is down 7 percentage points from last week. The gap has narrowed a little bit because the number of opinions against it has increased by 4 percentage points. In any case, it is clear that there are more opinions in favor of impeachment than those against it, but when looking at the party's support earlier, the people's power has increased considerably and numerically, although it is within the margin of error. Then, even if President Yoon is impeached, he will support the power of the people? It's also read like this.
[Yoon Heesuk]
That's right. So from now on, we will judge impeachment and party approval ratings separately. Therefore, the judgment on whether President Yoon will be impeached has already been made, and the people now begin to judge the political situation after that. There are many people who presuppose that there will be an early presidential election due to some cited impeachment, and if so, it is highly likely that they will respond to party support with early presidential elections in mind. If so, this trend of public opinion now may be the tendency to vote in the early presidential election, that is, how many people in conservatives are willing to vote, and how many people in the progressive or middle are willing to vote. You can also see it as a measure to show this. The reason I'm telling you this is because if you look at the percentage of respondents in the same survey at the end of November, just before martial law, there are 75 more conservative respondents in today's survey than in terms of conservatives, progressives, and the middle. So, we surveyed 1,000 people, and 75 more people said they were conservatives than a month ago, and the progress was the same. But the number of respondents decreased by 83. And compared to the previous week, the number of conservatives and moderates is similar, but the number of progressives has decreased by nearly 30. So if you look at this, you can't control the ideology and disposition of those people who respond to the survey, right? I can't calibrate it. That's why I said earlier that conservative supporters responded well to the poll so positively. If you expand it a little more, the willingness to vote in the presidential election and participate in the election are much greater among conservative supporters. It could affect the outcome of the vote. That's how you might see it.
[Anchor]
Perhaps because of that impact, Gallup said this when looking at the survey of the pros and cons of impeachment against President Yoon. He said the tide of impeachment has changed across the middle, conservatives and all ages.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right. I agree with impeachment, but more and more people are now questioning whether they can give power to the Democratic Party in the political situation after the impeachment. So, as I said earlier, of course, as the spokesman thought, some of the remuneration is oversampled.From the people's point of view, the Democratic Party of Korea has been fighting against President Yoon Suk Yeol's arbitrary state administration until now in order to take the next administration. Instead of that, it should show a more flexible way to manage state affairs. If not, I think you're sending a message now that we can't give support to the Democratic Party after impeachment. That's why I actually shouldn't have too many strikers at our party's convention last year in preparation for this situation. Defenders and midfielders said there would be a time when they needed them, but in the eyes of the people now, if they are going to do the ruling party, will they just fight this opposition party that is just attacking? I think it's time for those within the party who can give more flexible and centrist messages to raise their voices, because they are sending a message that they should show a stable state administration rather than just fighting.
[Anchor]
So let's take a look at the next leader's preference as we show you another figure that the Democratic Party can't just be relieved about. In terms of figures alone, representative Lee Jae-myung is still overwhelmingly high just by looking at the graph. But the conservative candidates who have been on the floor. I can see a lot right now. You can notice that the graph is coming up little by little. Minister Kim Moon-soo in particular. In the meantime, the last NBS survey showed that it was not there at all, but when you put your name in it, it went up to 13%, so how do you see a graph like this?
[Yoon Hee-seok]
If you look at Lee Jae-myung standing tall alone, you can see that the next president, Lee Jae-myung, is very likely, but I don't think it means much to list several people like that unless it's a bilateral competition. Since there is only one candidate from our party anyway, there is little difference from representative Lee Jae-myung if the figures of Kim Moon-soo, Hong Joon Pyo, Han Dong-hoon, and Oh Se-hoon are combined. That's why numbers are important in a bilateral confrontation. But what I want to say now is that representative Lee Jae-myung's number 31, almost alone in the opposition party, but the number is smaller than I thought. So far, everyone is expecting that Lee Jae-myung will come out as the presidential election, and frankly, what sets him apart from others is that he has been alone for four years since he started in 21st, prepared for the presidential election in 22nd, and has been running for the presidential election for four years. For four years, one presidential campaign has been a party leader twice, a lawmaker twice, and a presidential election once, and it should be taken as a warning signal to oneself that such a figure is coming out after four years. Unless something drastic changes are shown to the public, whether Lee Jae-myung can run for president as a candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea can remain highly questionable depending on the progress of judicial risks. I think we've reached that point.
[Anchor] Mr.
Sung, how does Representative Lee Jae-myung view these recent polls now?
[Sung Chi-hoon]
You said you were looking at the public sentiment on the floor, whether it is distorted or oversampled, but you need to understand what the public sentiment on the floor does not appear in the poll indicators. I see it as a message that if the public sentiment at the bottom is really leaving the Democratic Party now, it should be taken as a serious crisis. In terms of the preference for the next leader, the emergence of Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo, who has never been before, is the strongest candidate among the conservative candidates. In fact, he was the only one who did not get up and refused to apologize when he asked the members of the State Council to apologize.
[Anchor]
No one can deny that.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's why the support for Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo has been increasing for a week or two, so the remarks of Mayor Oh Se-hoon and others are getting stronger. I would rather restrict something like moderate scalability in the conservative camp. That's why I told you that the Democratic Party of Korea should also make efforts to expand the center, but because of the Kim Moon-soo effect, other candidates are seeking stronger remarks and stronger conservatives. I think then there will be enough room for Democrats to turn their current support around once again.
[Anchor]
I see. Let's stop here. He was joined by Yoon Hee-seok, former spokesman for People's Power, and Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee. Thank you both.
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■ Appearance: Yoon Hee-seok, former spokesman for People's Power, Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee
* The text below may differ from the actual broadcast content, so please check the broadcast for more accurate information. Please specify [YTN News Special] when quoting.
[Anchor]
The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit today requested an arrest warrant for President Yoon Suk Yeol. A warrant review will be held tomorrow. The ruling and opposition parties have voiced mixed opinions over the results. Today, I will speak with Yoon Hee-seok, former spokesman for People's Power, and Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee. Please come in. The request for an arrest warrant from the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is 45 days after the emergency martial law incident. It's been two days since President Yoon was arrested. It's been a few days. It's actually the first time in constitutional history and it's a record of history, so I have no choice but to keep saying this. How did you see the warrant claim today?
[Yoon Heesuk]
Everything is happening for the first time ever. Following the arrest, the incumbent president is on the verge of arrest. Of course, it may be the principle of our judicial system to arrest suspects because of the need for an investigation.What does Ma mean by arresting and investigating the incumbent president, who can be seen as having little or no fear of fleeing and destroying evidence? If you think about what can be gained from disgracing the incumbent president like that, I'm very sorry about the request for an arrest warrant. Of course, I agree with the principle that the investigation itself should be fair and more detailed.I would like to say first that no one from the people will have a good view on this request for an arrest warrant.
[Anchor]
Let's continue to divide the results.How do you see Ma?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
It's a pity. It is unfortunate that the incumbent president has been requested an arrest warrant following an arrest warrant. However, I would like to say that all of this was brought on by President Yoon Suk Yeol. Because if President Yoon Suk Yeol had responded to the summons and cooperated with the search and seizure of the residence or the presidential office, I don't think it would have led to arrest or detention. However, since the Democratic Party has continued to obstruct the investigation by denying the Korean judicial system beyond the fact that it is virtually uncooperative, why is there no fear of destroying evidence from the perspective of the Democratic Party? Because none of the non-phone servers known to be in the president's office, personal memos or cell phones have been secured as investigative data, I think the president may have destroyed such evidence and there is a good chance he will continue to destroy them. That's why they argue that the president who doesn't cooperate is inevitably under arrest investigation.
[Anchor]
I see. In the midst of this today, President Yoon is still in Seoul Detention Center. I published another article in the form of a prison letter here. If you look at it, there are about 196 characters or 5 sentences today, and among them, it's a bit cold. It's a little uncomfortable, but I'm doing well in the detention center. I heard that many people are coming out to the cold streets and gathering strength for the country. I sent a message saying thank you for your passionate patriotism. How should we read this letter? I think we need to read a little bit about how President Yoon feels now.
[Yoon Heesuk]
That's right. On New Year's Day on January 1, President Yoon sent a letter to those protesting outside his Hannam-dong residence. Since then, he has consistently expressed his gratitude to the people who have supported him outside. Through that, I have expressed various thoughts about why I had to do this, and the reason for the invocation of such emergency martial law. It is said that this kind of message is intended to unite the supporters, but President Yoon is not in a situation where he can unite the supporters and do something politically, right? As a purely incumbent president, I had no choice but to do something with the heart of serving my country. And I think this situation is my intention to preach more justification for my actions to the people by once again expressing my will that it is very unfair and close to illegality, which I think was arrested by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and the Western District Court.
[Anchor]
Right now, spokesperson Yoon said no.The opposing camp continues to say that this was intended to gather supporters.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's the only way to look at it. And I'd like to say that I'm really sorry about the contents of the letter, even though it's not the first time the letter has been apologized. I would like to say that it is very regrettable that on December 3rd, unconstitutional and illegal emergency martial law scared many people, and even though many people have taken to the streets in this cold weather and voiced their voices, they have not apologized for it. In my last letter, I sent a message aimed at conservative supporters, saying they are just patriotic citizens instead of citizens, but this time they are citizens. However, in the end, if you look at the contents behind it, I am grateful because those who came out on the streets and among the people are showing patriotism. In the end, I would like to say that this is also inappropriate because it is not a message as a president representing the entire people, but only to the conservative supporters who are out on the streets for themselves. Lastly, he said that he was looking back on what kind of messages he sent today, Independence Day, and the past, but if you look at the messages at that time, there were always anti-state forces. So, since then, the president has consistently been unable to run the country due to anti-state forces. State administration is not working because of anti-state forces. If you say these things and end up going to the emergency martial law, will you be able to reflect on the current situation even if you look back on them? Rather, I'm telling you that I have no choice but to see it as a message to unite conservative supporters because it shows the feeling that I'm holding my heart by looking at it, not reflecting on and regretting the past. [Anchor] You're asking me to speak up a little more.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right.
President
[Anchor]
Yoon has a warrant review tomorrow, and he was interested in attending, but he seems to have decided not to attend. In the meantime, he said he would actively plead if an arrest warrant was requested, even if it was not an arrest warrant, but why did he say it wouldn't come out?
[Yoon Heesuk]
First of all, aren't you questioning court jurisdiction? First of all, the President of Yoon Suk Yeol requests, issues, and executes investigations and arrest warrants. In other words, starting with the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the request, issuance, and execution of arrest warrants by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. I keep talking about the problem consciousness about all the procedures. I guess it started with how the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, which has no investigative power and no prosecution power against the president, can claim an arrest warrant even though it does not have the right to investigate rebellion. In addition, the court that requested it was not the Seoul Central District Court, which is the jurisdiction of the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, but a very small part of the exception rule was submitted to the Seoul Western District Court, which has jurisdiction over Hannam-dong, President Yoon's residence. But, of course, the tendency of the judges of the Western District Court, those things are very partisan. We continue to take issue with this recognition, but the Western District Court has now issued an arrest warrant. So it means that illegal and unfair procedures are continuing. So I can't respond. It expresses the injustice and illegality with the body as not responding to unjust procedures.
[Anchor]
But didn't the Central District Court dismiss the arrest suit yesterday? With this, didn't the judiciary once again recognize the suitability and legality of the warrant?
[Yoon Heesuk]
I think the two things are carved. The legitimacy of the arrest has been acknowledged for now. The other thing is that the jurisdiction issue has been resolved, but even so, President Yoon can also take issue with the arrest warrant to the Western District Court, which could cause another problem. Of course, because the Central District Court rejected the arrest suit, he said he had no problem with the validity of the arrest warrant issued by the Western District Court.An arrest warrant could be another story.
[Anchor]
Arrest warrants and arrest warrants are different.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
In fact, I've been talking about jurisdiction, but according to Article 31 of the Public Offices Act, there's no illegality at all in the Western District Court as the jurisdiction of the residence. And the judge who issued the first arrest warrant, the judge who issued the second arrest warrant, the other judge. Two judges have now acknowledged this, and another judge in the Seoul Central District Court has said it's okay. And this time, the examination of the arrest warrant will be conducted by another on-duty judge, not the two warrant issuing judges, who will appear on the weekend. That's why if the judge who examines this arrest warrant is included, a total of four judges will acknowledge that there is no jurisdiction or problem of investigative authority. In fact, even though each judge is a very important part of the credibility as a judicial institution and a constitutional institution, what was it like today's supporters to continue talking about the judges being so discredited as if they were biased toward a certain orientation? In the case of a judge who rushed to the Western District Court to demonstrate in such a way and ruled against the Seoul Central District Court on Wednesday, is it fair for the president to undermine the trust of the judiciary? I will read that I do not have the will to protect the Constitution. I think it will have a negative impact.
[Anchor]
That's what I'm saying. So, there have been cases where President Yoon continues to raise objections to the judiciary's judgment, but for example, the Constitutional Court has served documents on the impeachment trial and has not been receiving them. I don't know if I didn't get it.Ma, by the way, regarded it as a service, and just yesterday, he was so proud of his arrest. So, there is talk of losing nine out of nine against the judiciary, so where is the reason for raising the issue like this?
[Yoon Heesuk]
The fact that it has been mentioned several times that it has not been received by the Constitutional Court, perhaps because of the time constraints that can be prepared, I have not been able to receive it physically to some extent, which I see as such. I think that and the dispute with the court are different in character. As I said, that's what the Constitution is like. Regarding this court, as well as regarding the arrest warrant, didn't the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit continue to be judged without the defect being healed? It led to a sense of pride in arrest and even a request for an arrest warrant. So, from President Yoon's point of view, we cannot continue to respond properly to the procedural Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit and various judicial procedures from the court because they continue to be defective.
[Anchor]
However, from President Yoon's point of view, I think that this uncooperative attitude toward the investigation and impeachment proceedings can affect the warrant review and impeachment trial.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
I think it will have an adverse effect. It's already the ninth time. So, five cases were filed in the Constitutional Court alone and four cases in the general court, and all were rejected. In fact, it is a situation that can be seen as 9 out of 9 losses, and we saw the impeachment decision of President Park Geun Hye in 2017, the judge said, but this person has no will to protect the constitution. President Yoon Suk Yeol has to resist something in the judicial system, protest and appeal in the judicial system, but it is like violating the Constitution to judge something by himself and to me, who is a former legal professional, to judge that this is illegal. In this case, if this continues to drag on for a while and somehow undermine the credibility of the judiciary, will the hard-line supporters who continued to run in front of the Western District Court or the residence admit this regardless of the results? This attitude of the President to create a culture and create an atmosphere in which he can object to the results of the Constitution and the judiciary in a constitutional state in Korea. I think it's going to have a very negative impact on the impeachment trial because it's going to be very negative in the Constitutional Court.
[Anchor]
If so, I'm quite curious about what the warrant will be like tomorrow, but the schedule will start at 2 p.m. tomorrow. The Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has prepared a warrant solidly now, and 7 prosecutors will attend tomorrow. There were three people in the last arrest warrant, and they prepared a lot, so they seem to be showing considerable confidence, what do you expect?
[Yoon Heesuk]
First of all, the investigative authorities will try to carry out the arrest of the incumbent president with all their might. If we look at the requirements for issuing an arrest warrant, we are concerned about the destruction of evidence and flight. Don't you see these two the biggest? If you think about whether the incumbent president can do that, I can tell you whether there is a need to arrest him and investigate him, but this issue is very serious. A crime of rebellion because the crime of rebellion is a charge. Therefore, I think the warrant judge will judge how the warrant judge will judge that part according to the law and according to his own conscience. In any case, in the process of requesting an arrest warrant, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has not been properly investigated to see if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was able to prepare and explain to the court, so we will wait and see the results.
[Anchor]
So, the criteria for whether or not an arrest warrant is issued will be, as you just said, the fear of flight, the destruction of evidence, and how much the charges will be clarified, what do you think, Vice-Chairman?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
In my opinion, I don't think the concern of escape is a matter to be considered that way. I don't think there will be an idea that an incumbent president will run away anywhere. However, as I said earlier, there is enough concern about the destruction of evidence. And because he continues to exercise his right to refuse to make statements at the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, the investigation into the president was not carried out. However, important mission workers who can be called common criminals. Those who were contacted by former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun or the president on personal non-phone and carried out the order. All those people's testimonies are now available in the data. In a way, the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit was trying to conduct investigations to confirm such things, but isn't the president refusing it now? From that point of view, it is sufficient as a reason for requesting this arrest warrant. Because, according to the testimony given by the key mission workers, it can be inferred that the president has sufficient evidence or such things, but since he continues to refuse these things and is uncooperative so that he cannot search and seizure, he will rule that an arrest investigation will need to confirm them.
[Anchor]
Anyway, for interpretation, and the spokesperson said that.Ma continues to emphasize inappropriateness and illegality of the Western District Court, so if a warrant is issued after the real warrant examination, is there a possibility that he will be arrested like a warrant arrest suit or an arrest suit yesterday?
[Yoon Heesuk]
There's a good chance of that. Even in the case of an arrest suit, in fact, the statute of limitations for an arrest warrant is only 48 hours, so it's not very profitable, right? So I didn't expect to apply for an arrest suit, but I suddenly applied again yesterday. So perhaps President Yoon's idea will resist this procedural injustice by all means possible. So, all the procedures that can be done will go through, maybe they have this will. If so, there is a high possibility of binding pride, I think so.
[Anchor]
However, I wonder if I will respond to the investigation if the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit or the police continue to investigate after the arrest.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
I'll be uncooperative with the investigation. And I think I can probably file another objection even after the application for legality. Because didn't the president actually file an objection before the execution of the arrest warrant? Originally, objections are not made before, but if there is an illegality in the process after the arrest warrant and arrest warrant are executed, an objection can be filed. Therefore, there is a possibility that the president will file an objection, arguing that there is something illegal in the process of executing the arrest warrant and the execution of the arrest warrant. Then we can delay the time again. In the event of an arrest investigation, half of the prosecution and half of the prosecution will be the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit. Since the agencies agreed on this, it could be uncooperative in the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, and there is a possibility that they will respond to the prosecution's investigation, which has the final right to prosecute, in order to exercise their defense rights. Because if you continue to exercise your right to refuse to make statements at a time when the allegations of rebellion by important mission workers are getting stronger, you may not be able to exercise your right to defend yourself. Then at some point, I think that at some point in the 20 days of the arrest investigation, we will certainly start to respond to defend something.
[Anchor]
In the investigation of the day before yesterday by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, he continued to exercise his right to remain silent and selectively talked about his martial law justification. That seems to have a point. Along with this, what was very interested in the National Assembly today is the special prosecution law. The floor leaders of the ruling and opposition parties negotiated the Special Counsel Act on the emergency martial law, but it ended up breaking down. Is it a definite breakdown today?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
In fact, the Democratic Party is thinking of passing it at today's plenary session if it breaks down. That's why we don't know until the last minute, considering that we haven't heard the news that it's passed yet. As far as I know, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik is continuing his calls to narrow down a little bit. That's why I still wonder if it's a final breakdown until I finally hear that the Democratic Party just passed the plenary session on its own.
[Anchor]
Can you show us your ticket again? Spokesman Yoon, so how are the martial law special prosecution laws different now in preparation for the ruling party's proposal, the martial law law law, and the opposition party's civil war law?
[Yoon Heesuk]
First of all, the name is different. In the case of the Civil War Special Prosecutor Act issued by the Democratic Party, the scope of the investigation is very wide so that the investigation can be conducted from the invocation of the emergency martial law order to the act of commanding civil war to the act of foreign exchange crimes, and what we have recognized in the middle of the investigation. It is very broad, but the martial law special prosecutor law prepared by our party excludes the part related to civil war from the law that the Democratic Party of Korea has proposed now and also excludes the part related to foreign exchange crimes. In conclusion, the number of investigators will be reduced a lot because only the part related to the invocation of martial law is done over the scope of the investigation. The number decreased by nearly 100 to 58 and 155 on the Democratic side.
[Anchor]
The number of investigators has decreased even more than the draft of the ruling party.
[Yoon Heesuk]
It's decreased a lot. Accordingly, the investigation period was reduced from 150 days to a maximum of 110 days. So, the logic of our party's special prosecutor law is to reduce it a little and let's go to a special prosecutor that can approach the substance faster.
[Anchor]
To say that it broke down now, what issue did this get caught on?
[Yoon Heesuk]
I think it might have been caught within the scope of the investigation. Perhaps the Democratic Party of Korea expressed its intention to remove the foreign exchange crime part that was added in the middle, considering the extent of the first rejection, but from our party's point of view, the scope of the investigation was also rejected in the first round because there is a logic that we could not receive it because the scope of the investigation was too wide, so we cannot receive it from our point of view if we do not reduce it. I think that's probably the logic.
[Anchor]
It cannot be accepted except for the crime of foreign exchange, from the power of the people.
[Yoon Heesuk]
In fact, a special prosecutor should be established as an exception and supplement, but the investigation has already been conducted by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit, arrested, requested an arrest warrant, and the process is underway, and we can also talk about the practical benefit of making a special prosecutor in the middle to stop it and hand it over to the special prosecutor to conduct this investigation. So, let's proceed with the martial law special prosecution law, not this, but because the Democratic Party of Korea may pass the Insurrection Special Prosecutor Act, which has a wide range of investigations that we cannot accept with the power of the number of seats, so we prepared the proposal as a second choice. Our martial law special prosecutor law also doesn't mean that let's pass it perfectly and do it as it is. In conclusion, it was quite difficult to negotiate because we were negative in this situation, and it was very difficult for the Democratic Party to accept, so I didn't expect much from the beginning that it could be agreed today.
[Anchor]
I can hear spokesman Yoon like this right now. First of all, I proposed it, but rather than finding a point of contact with the Democratic Party and passing it, I think you thought there was no possibility of passing it if the Democratic Party did not accept our proposal, from the beginning.
[Yoon Heesuk]
Since there are so many seats in the Democratic Party of Korea, why don't we let them pass anything to pass something? Without it, we don't need an independent counsel. However, the opposition party is in a position to pass the special prosecution law in this situation. Then, from our point of view, it is a choice to reduce the part that we cannot accept to the minimum and pass it, from our point of view, to avoid the worst.
[Anchor]
The Democratic Party of Korea said that it is a hard-fought independent counsel law and a scarecrow independent counsel law.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right. It's a special prosecutor that has virtually nothing in it and everything important is missing, so we'll reduce the duration and the number of investigators. In fact, haven't you consistently criticized the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit in the power of the people? It has been pointed out that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is incompetent, but there has been a limitation that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has such limitations because of the small size of the organization and investigation personnel. And as spokesman Yoon pointed out earlier, the investigation by the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit has progressed to some extent over the period because the people have continued to reject the special prosecution to issue this. So even if the independent counsel law passes, those related to rebellion are likely to be prosecuted tomorrow or if the request is accepted, so the independent counsel will not be able to reinvestigate the rebellion. Therefore, if these parts that the Democratic Party claims to be revealed from the Democratic Party's point of view, such as propaganda of civil war, incitement, and foreign exchange, are not included, the meaning of the special prosecutor could be lost. That's why the Democratic Party cannot exclude these two things, and because of those two things, it cannot be received from the people's power. That's why, in fact, I think this is going to a difficult situation to agree on.
[Anchor]
It finally broke down as those positions that could never be given away and could never be received were confronted closely. I think that's what you two think right now. When the ruling party's proposal was proposed today, it was proposed by the party, but the total number of lawmakers was 108 minutes, but 104 people signed it. Four minutes are missing. What are their positions?
[Yoon Heesuk]
They're like this. As I said, a special prosecutor should be established when there is a need to supplement something exceptional, really exceptional, supplementary and very specific about the investigation of an investigative agency, and this should not be passed by the National Assembly for political reasons. He emphasized that principle. The conclusion is that the Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is investigating the president, an arrest warrant was issued, and an arrest warrant was issued, so why do we set up a new special prosecutor and do it again when the investigation is complete. Another question is, is it politically and deliberately correct if the party proposed an independent counsel bill to investigate the president produced by our party and passed it? I understand that they didn't sign these two parts because they were problematic.
[Anchor]
As mentioned earlier, all the people involved have been indicted, the president has been arrested, and who will the special prosecutor investigate?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
The scope of the special prosecutor's investigation, which the Democratic Party of Korea claims earlier, includes not only the crime of rebellion, propaganda of rebellion, sedition, and foreign exchange, but the current Senior Civil Servant Corruption Investigations Unit is not investigating the crime of foreign exchange, propaganda of rebellion, and sedition, following the abuse of authority related to the crime of rebellion. Investigations should also be conducted on such things. That's why I'm arguing that an independent counsel is needed.
[Anchor]
In the end, National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-sik said he felt that he should lock the door by 12 o'clock today to discuss it.Ma is not making any more progress and the Democrats then pass the Democratic bill alone?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
I understand that it will pass today. Because if we can't do it today, seven ruling and opposition lawmakers will leave for the inauguration of President Trump in the U.S. tomorrow, so there is a realistic part where it is difficult to vote on this or do such things after that, so I actually told the people that today is the deadline. So, if negotiations continue to break down before 12 o'clock today, it is expected that the plenary session will be held and passed alone.
[Anchor]
I see. That'll come in a little bit as a breaking news, regardless. That's the Special Prosecutor Act. Let's take a look at the flow of public opinion. Gallup polls are out today. The power of the people was 39% and the Democratic Party was 36%. The power of the people increased by 5 percentage points from the previous week. The Democratic Party has remained the same. So there's a situation that's reversed within the margin of error, and it's not unfamiliar because recent polls are similar. What do you think?
[Yoon Heesuk]
Recently, many polls have shown that our party's approval rating has risen and the Democratic Party's approval rating has fallen sharply, leading to some polls changing their rankings. That's how the Gallup survey came out. In conclusion, this is a situation in which the public cannot accept the political situation led by the Democratic Party for about a month and a half when the impeachment began. What do you mean? The Democratic Party of Korea has taken the initiative and led this political situation so far, but has not shown anything at all and has only gradually increased national confusion. I did Joule Impeachment. And the Constitutional Court also evaluated the behavior of the Democratic Party of Korea, starting with the question of whether to commit rebellion or not, and it was too rough and too impatient, and without responsibility, first of all, I think so. This is very problematic for many conservative supporters who have seen the process of the execution of arrest warrants for President Yoon and the incumbent president. Should we go so far as to address the incumbent president? I agree that there are many problems in terms of defense rights and there are many problems in terms of procedural aspects, so I think you responded to the poll quite well.
[Anchor]
So, you mean that the arrest of President Yoon is reflected in these polls to some extent. How do you see it in the Democratic Party?
[Sung Chi Hoon]
First of all, I think it's right that hard conservative supporters are gathering. However, it is difficult to explain the flow of public opinion with just that. I think there must be a political party factor. What's the factor, it's probably what the Democratic Party has been pursuing over the past few years is a stronger Democratic Party, a stronger Democratic Party, a Democratic Party that can fight better. Because in the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, President Yoon Suk Yeol did not recognize the opposition party as an object of cooperation and did not recognize the legislature, so the people ordered the creation of a stronger Democratic Party that could fight it well, but President Yoon Suk Yeol is now being impeached. Then, who should take over the next administration? If the Democratic Party continues to pursue the strong Democratic Party that it has been doing for years now, considering who will run the next state administration, will it be able to run state administration differently from President Yoon Suk Yeol? I'd like to see the Democratic Party express its doubts about whether it's okay to show cooperation with the ruling party and the conservative party. That's why I think it's necessary for the Democratic Party to be more flexible and embrace more diverse voices in the future, and that such a strategy is necessary.
[Anchor]
Let's take a look at the other figures now. How do you expect the results of the next presidential election? 48% of the figures are that there should be a change of government, and the current government should be maintained. Forty percent. That's a little bit less. The difference in quantity was a little bigger. Can you show us the next one? What do you think about President Yoon's impeachment? 57 up for it, 36 down for it. So this is down 7 percentage points from last week. The gap has narrowed a little bit because the number of opinions against it has increased by 4 percentage points. In any case, it is clear that there are more opinions in favor of impeachment than those against it, but when looking at the party's support earlier, the people's power has increased considerably and numerically, although it is within the margin of error. Then, even if President Yoon is impeached, he will support the power of the people? It's also read like this.
[Yoon Heesuk]
That's right. So from now on, we will judge impeachment and party approval ratings separately. Therefore, the judgment on whether President Yoon will be impeached has already been made, and the people now begin to judge the political situation after that. There are many people who presuppose that there will be an early presidential election due to some cited impeachment, and if so, it is highly likely that they will respond to party support with early presidential elections in mind. If so, this trend of public opinion now may be the tendency to vote in the early presidential election, that is, how many people in conservatives are willing to vote, and how many people in the progressive or middle are willing to vote. You can also see it as a measure to show this. The reason I'm telling you this is because if you look at the percentage of respondents in the same survey at the end of November, just before martial law, there are 75 more conservative respondents in today's survey than in terms of conservatives, progressives, and the middle. So, we surveyed 1,000 people, and 75 more people said they were conservatives than a month ago, and the progress was the same. But the number of respondents decreased by 83. And compared to the previous week, the number of conservatives and moderates is similar, but the number of progressives has decreased by nearly 30. So if you look at this, you can't control the ideology and disposition of those people who respond to the survey, right? I can't calibrate it. That's why I said earlier that conservative supporters responded well to the poll so positively. If you expand it a little more, the willingness to vote in the presidential election and participate in the election are much greater among conservative supporters. It could affect the outcome of the vote. That's how you might see it.
[Anchor]
Perhaps because of that impact, Gallup said this when looking at the survey of the pros and cons of impeachment against President Yoon. He said the tide of impeachment has changed across the middle, conservatives and all ages.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's right. I agree with impeachment, but more and more people are now questioning whether they can give power to the Democratic Party in the political situation after the impeachment. So, as I said earlier, of course, as the spokesman thought, some of the remuneration is oversampled.From the people's point of view, the Democratic Party of Korea has been fighting against President Yoon Suk Yeol's arbitrary state administration until now in order to take the next administration. Instead of that, it should show a more flexible way to manage state affairs. If not, I think you're sending a message now that we can't give support to the Democratic Party after impeachment. That's why I actually shouldn't have too many strikers at our party's convention last year in preparation for this situation. Defenders and midfielders said there would be a time when they needed them, but in the eyes of the people now, if they are going to do the ruling party, will they just fight this opposition party that is just attacking? I think it's time for those within the party who can give more flexible and centrist messages to raise their voices, because they are sending a message that they should show a stable state administration rather than just fighting.
[Anchor]
So let's take a look at the next leader's preference as we show you another figure that the Democratic Party can't just be relieved about. In terms of figures alone, representative Lee Jae-myung is still overwhelmingly high just by looking at the graph. But the conservative candidates who have been on the floor. I can see a lot right now. You can notice that the graph is coming up little by little. Minister Kim Moon-soo in particular. In the meantime, the last NBS survey showed that it was not there at all, but when you put your name in it, it went up to 13%, so how do you see a graph like this?
[Yoon Hee-seok]
If you look at Lee Jae-myung standing tall alone, you can see that the next president, Lee Jae-myung, is very likely, but I don't think it means much to list several people like that unless it's a bilateral competition. Since there is only one candidate from our party anyway, there is little difference from representative Lee Jae-myung if the figures of Kim Moon-soo, Hong Joon Pyo, Han Dong-hoon, and Oh Se-hoon are combined. That's why numbers are important in a bilateral confrontation. But what I want to say now is that representative Lee Jae-myung's number 31, almost alone in the opposition party, but the number is smaller than I thought. So far, everyone is expecting that Lee Jae-myung will come out as the presidential election, and frankly, what sets him apart from others is that he has been alone for four years since he started in 21st, prepared for the presidential election in 22nd, and has been running for the presidential election for four years. For four years, one presidential campaign has been a party leader twice, a lawmaker twice, and a presidential election once, and it should be taken as a warning signal to oneself that such a figure is coming out after four years. Unless something drastic changes are shown to the public, whether Lee Jae-myung can run for president as a candidate of the Democratic Party of Korea can remain highly questionable depending on the progress of judicial risks. I think we've reached that point.
[Anchor] Mr.
Sung, how does Representative Lee Jae-myung view these recent polls now?
[Sung Chi-hoon]
You said you were looking at the public sentiment on the floor, whether it is distorted or oversampled, but you need to understand what the public sentiment on the floor does not appear in the poll indicators. I see it as a message that if the public sentiment at the bottom is really leaving the Democratic Party now, it should be taken as a serious crisis. In terms of the preference for the next leader, the emergence of Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo, who has never been before, is the strongest candidate among the conservative candidates. In fact, he was the only one who did not get up and refused to apologize when he asked the members of the State Council to apologize.
[Anchor]
No one can deny that.
[Sung Chi Hoon]
That's why the support for Minister of Employment and Labor Kim Moon-soo has been increasing for a week or two, so the remarks of Mayor Oh Se-hoon and others are getting stronger. I would rather restrict something like moderate scalability in the conservative camp. That's why I told you that the Democratic Party of Korea should also make efforts to expand the center, but because of the Kim Moon-soo effect, other candidates are seeking stronger remarks and stronger conservatives. I think then there will be enough room for Democrats to turn their current support around once again.
[Anchor]
I see. Let's stop here. He was joined by Yoon Hee-seok, former spokesman for People's Power, and Sung Chi-hoon, vice chairman of the Democratic Party's Policy Committee. Thank you both.
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