Han Byeong-do‘s Historic Re-election: What This Means for South Korea’s Legislative Future

Moon Seung-wook | 2026.05.07

Translation result

[Anchor] Han Byung-do of the Democratic Party won re-election as floor leader — the first politician in the party’s history to serve consecutive terms. The newly re-elected floor leader emphasized the need for a special prosecutor to investigate allegedly fabricated indictments, but said he will solicit input and decide after the local elections. Moon Seung-wook reports. [Reporter] Han Byung-do, the sole candidate in the Democratic Party’s floor leader race, was re-elected after a yes-or-no vote. He was first elected in a January by-election following the resignation of former floor leader Kim Byung-gi, and has now secured a second term. Han said he will aim to lead the party to victory in the local elections and to complete the administration’s legislative priorities by December. He plans to slow the process on the most contentious issue — the special prosecutor bill concerning alleged fabricated indictments — by postponing action until after the local elections. Yet resolving the controversy over the possible dismissal of indictments remains a significant challenge. 「Han Byung-do / Democratic Party floor leader」 Regarding the timing, procedures and details of the special prosecutor bill, I will gather input from the public and party members after the local elections and make a decision following a thorough deliberative process. He also said the party needs to settle its internal stance on whether to grant supplementary investigative powers and to negotiate the National Assembly’s organization for the second half of the year with opposition parties. He will also be responsible for managing the party convention in August to elect a new party chair and supreme council members. Meanwhile, ruling and opposition parties collided over the special prosecutor issue at the Legislation and Judiciary Committee. The Democratic Party argued that abuses of prosecutorial power that amount to state-level wrongdoing should be investigated by a special prosecutor and stressed the bill’s legitimacy. 「Jeon Hyun-hee / Democratic Party lawmaker」 If people became victims due to fabricated investigations and fabricated indictments, then prosecutions should, of course, be dismissed… The People Power Party denounced the bill as a “shield special prosecutor” for President Lee, calling it unconstitutional and urging its repeal. 「Na Kyung-won / People Power Party lawmaker」 Please urge the president to exercise his veto if this absurdly unconstitutional bill passes. Justice Minister Jeong Seong-ho, who attended the meeting, said the bill’s intent is not to cancel prosecutions and asked that specific investigative targets be determined through discussions between the parties. This is Moon Seung-wook, Yonhap News TV. [Video reporting: Kim Seong-su, Park Tae-beom, Kim Sang-hoon, Hong Su-ho] [Video editing: Lee Ae-ryeon] [News review] For Yonhap News TV inquiries and tips: KakaoTalk/LINE jebo23; Moon Seung-wook (winnerwook@yna.co.kr)
Moon Seung-wook

Moon Seung-wook

Han Byeong-do's Historic Re-election: What This Means for South Korea's Legislative Future