On the afternoon of the 7th the PPP held a ‘national denunciation rally against the law forcing through cancellation of Lee Jae-myung’s trial’ near Gyeongbokgung Station. Financial News and Hankook Ilbo report that Jang, floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik, some 70 lawmakers, district chairs from outside the Assembly and party members attended. Seoul Economic Daily said participants wore mourning ribbons reading ‘democracy is dead’ and carried placards.

Estimates of the crowd differed sharply. Financial News reported that the PPP put attendance at 150,000 while police counted 6,000 provisionally. Hankook Ilbo added that the party figure was not independently verified.

How strong the speeches were, and the ‘impeachment’ remark

Jang called the bill the ‘Lee Jae-myung jailbreak law’ and urged the judiciary to resume the president’s trial at once. Hankook Ilbo quoted him as saying ‘for a president who betrayed the people, impeachment is now the only answer’, and he also criticized the nomination of Lee Yong-chul as justice minister. Seoul Economic Daily noted, however, that nothing in the coverage indicated an impeachment motion had been tabled or that the party had decided to begin formal procedures, so it reads as a rally claim.

Jeong described the Democratic Party’s ending of the PPP filibuster the day before as an ‘unmistakable parliamentary coup’. According to Hankook Ilbo, he argued that letting the president appoint the counsel who will investigate his own cases is a conflict of interest and even used the word ‘insurrection’. He also urged voters to strip the Democrats of seats at the next general election.

The Democratic Party countered that this is political bickering. Financial News reported that spokesperson Son Myeong-su on the 7th called the PPP’s street campaign ‘political wrangling’ and told it to stop, while floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee on the 6th called it ‘fleeing to the streets’. A direct response from the presidential office could not be confirmed in this reporting.

The plenary vote the day before, and what comes next

The bill passed the plenary session on the 6th with 168 of 299 members present, 167 in favor and 1 against. Financial News and Polinews report that the PPP did not vote and that the lone no vote came from Reform Party lawmaker Lee Ju-young. The motion to end the filibuster drew 182 of 183 votes, above the 180 needed, which is three-fifths of the membership.

The bill covers cases tied to President Lee, such as the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong matters, along with allegations linked to former President Moon Jae-in; the team can reach 309 people and the probe can run up to 200 days including a 20-day preparation period. The contested clause on cancelling indictments was removed in committee, but the investigation-prosecution separation principle does not apply to the counsel. The Democrats call it a search for the truth about fabricated investigations, while the PPP calls it a shield for the president and a conflict of interest.

From a third angle, voices outside the two main camps are also split. Polinews reports that Rebuilding Korea Party lawmaker Park Eun-jeong skipped the vote over a possible conflict of interest because she once investigated the Seongnam FC case, and Democratic lawmaker Kim Yong-min did not vote, saying existing agencies were sufficient. The only no vote came from the Reform Party. Direct reactions from foreign governments or media could not be confirmed in this reporting.

The schedule ahead is tight. The PPP plans an on-site supreme council meeting in front of the presidential office on the 9th and a lawmakers’ meeting there on the 10th, urging a presidential veto; the 10th is also when the Cabinet is expected to approve promulgation. Hankook Ilbo reported that the party is weighing a boycott of next year’s budget review with ‘all cards on the table’, so confrontation could deepen ahead of the legal deadline of December 2.