Han Byung-do, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, criticized the opposition People Power Party for inviting former President Park Geun-hye to its policy retreat, calling the move "nothing short of a bizarre regression into the past."
Han made the remarks while presiding over a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly on the 27th, noting that "the People Power Party says it has formally invited former President Park to the retreat to seek her advice on the direction the party should take." Both the Democratic Party and the People Power Party began overnight, two-day gatherings the same day ahead of the regular parliamentary session in September — the Democratic Party calling its event a lawmakers' workshop and the People Power Party a policy retreat. The names differ, but the purpose is the same.
Han said such gatherings should be "occasions for intense deliberation on people's livelihoods and future strategy," adding: "I cannot understand how they intend to move toward the future using as their compass a figure who was judged by the public through a unanimous Constitutional Court ruling removing her from the presidency and a Supreme Court decision finalizing a 22-year prison sentence."
He called it "an irresponsible act that directly insults candlelight democracy and the constitutional order," and stressed: "I hope the People Power Party stops its dangerous drive in the wrong direction and moves forward for the lives of the people and the future of the Republic of Korea." He added that "at its workshop, the Democratic Party will look only to the future of the people and the nation and make thorough preparations for the regular session to achieve a great leap forward for the Republic of Korea."
Turning to mounting public criticism of the police following recent cases including the Jang Yoon-gi case and the disappearance and secret burial case on Jeju Island, Han said President Lee Jae-myung "instructed at the last Cabinet meeting that a police reform body be established under the prime minister's office." He added: "We cannot leave reform to the police's own efforts at self-correction. What is needed is high-intensity reform in which outside scrutiny and public oversight are at work."
He continued: "This case has renewed attention to a long-standing legislative task — the absence of a law on missing adults." He said bills to institutionalize searches and investigations for missing adults "have failed to clear the National Assembly. We will move quickly to discuss the relevant bills in this regular session." He also said it must be thoroughly determined "why the chain of command and supervision failed to function while a single officer in charge closed 298 missing-person cases over one year and five months."
On housing supply policy, Han said the party "must keep possibilities open and examine anywhere that can deliver the housing we need," adding that "Tancheon on its own terms and Yongsan on its own terms, we must find ways to use them for housing for young adults and low- and middle-income households." The remarks took up Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon's proposal to use the Tancheon site as an alternative to Yongsan Park, while also signaling that converting Yongsan Park into housing land should remain under review.
Han said the party "will also actively consider transferring authority over redevelopment projects of 500 households or fewer to municipal governments."
Separately, on flooding that occurred in Nepal on the 26th, Han said: "Nine of our citizens are out of contact. I ask the government to devote all available efforts to searching for and rescuing the missing." He added: "Together with the people, we pray for the safe return of the missing."
