Jung launches two-track push on insurrection cases

Dec 17, 2025, 09:52 am

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Jung Chung-rae, leader of the Democratic Party, speaks during an on-site Supreme Council meeting at the party’s Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province headquarters in Chuncheon on December 17. / Source: Yonhap News

The Democratic Party on December 17 declared a hardline, two-track drive to punish those involved in the Dec. 3 insurrection, pledging to simultaneously push for the creation of a dedicated court division and the launch of a second, expanded special prosecutor probe.

Party leader Jung Chung-rae made the remarks at an on-site Supreme Council meeting in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, saying, “The reckoning over the insurrection is only just beginning, and the war is ongoing.” He stressed that the party had finalized the outline of legislation to establish a special court division dedicated to insurrection-related cases and would pursue it as an official party line.

Jung voiced deep distrust toward the judiciary under Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae. “Over the past year, the Cho Hee-dae judiciary has gone in the opposite direction of the swift and resolute justice the public expected,” he said. “To fundamentally block defendants’ ‘bed football–style’ trial delays and contempt of court, the National Assembly will urgently prepare and pass the necessary legislation.”

The Democratic Party plans to process the bill within the current December extraordinary session of parliament.

The meeting also formalized plans for a “second additional comprehensive special prosecutor.” The move is timed to coincide with the conclusion of the special probe into first lady Kim Keon-hee on December 28, with the aim of addressing unresolved issues left by the initial investigation.

Jung said that the identities of the original planners and co-conspirators behind the Dec. 3 insurrection remain unclear, adding that investigators have yet to even touch the circumstances surrounding the creation of a list—found in what is known as the “Noh Sang-won notebook”—that allegedly named figures including President Lee Jae-myung as targets for detention. He added that the party would consolidate its position to enable a second comprehensive probe covering areas where investigations were hampered by warrant denials and refusals to testify.

Supreme Council member Hwang Myung-sun echoed the call, saying suspicions such as an alleged attempt to involve a Chinese contractor and possible links between the prosecution, the judiciary and the martial law episode were not uncovered by the first special prosecutor. “A comprehensive special probe is not a choice but a necessity,” he said.

Separately, the party leadership pledged to address local issues in Gangwon Province, including a third revision of the Gangwon Special Self-Governing Province Act and securing budget support to tackle drought conditions. Youth Supreme Council member Park Ji-won said Gangwon is particularly sensitive to inter-Korean relations and voiced support for greater policy autonomy for the Unification Ministry. The party also said it plans to establish an internal “Korean Peninsula Peace Strategy Committee” to support the Lee Jae-myung administration’s North Korea policy.

#Jung Chung-rae #Democratic Party #insurrection cases #special court division #second special prosecutor