Opposition advises lawmakers to focus on ‘sexual assaults’

The main opposition party instructed its lawmakers to focus on the topic of sexual assaults among others when they shoot questions at the government during a series of interpellation sessions beginning Thursday.

In an internal document revealed Tuesday, the People Power Party advised 12 participating legislators to concentrate on framing the government and the ruling party as “anti-corporation, anti-market economy, anti-rule of law and (prone to) sexual assaults.”

An administrative department of the party sent out its report on a strategic meeting for the interpellation sessions, calling for repeated attacks on the sexual misconduct by ruling party politicians such as the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon and previous Busan Mayor Oh Keo-don.

The opposition has slammed the ruling Democratic Party of Korea for revising a clause in its constitution to contest the vacancies left by Park and Oh. The clause had barred the Democratic Party from fielding candidates in a by-election if the by-election was caused by a “serious wrongdoing” by party members.

The People Power Party also advised the questioners to repeat the speaking points of “economic incompetence,” “moral double standards” and “pushover to North Korea.”

Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun expressed the hope that the notion was untrue.

“I really do not want to believe it. I rather wish it was fake news,” Chung wrote on Facebook on Wednesday.

Rep. Woo Won-shik of the Democratic Party said the People Power Party should be ashamed of themselves.

For questions on politics, foreign affairs, unification and national security, the main opposition party also advised lawmakers to point out problems caused by the Moon Jae-in administration’s repeated appointment of politicians as ministers, and the latest disclosure of an internal document of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy in which it discussed helping build a nuclear power plant in North Korea.

By Kim So-hyun (sophie@heraldcorp.com)