Lee Keonhee

The Democratic Party of Korea on July 17 granted exceptional candidate qualifications to Song Young-gil, who declared his candidacy for party leader, and Kim Yong, a former deputy head of the Democratic Research Institute, who is running for a Supreme Council position. The party held a Supreme Council meeting followed by a Party Affairs Committee meeting to finalize the decision.

The Democratic Party of Korea discussed the candidacy eligibility of Representative Song Young-gil on July 16 but did not reach a conclusion. The party plans to hold a closed meeting of its Supreme Council on the morning of July 17 to revisit the issue.

On July 15, members of the National Assembly's Legislative Judiciary Committee clashed over the abolition of supplementary investigation rights for prosecutors. The ruling coalition held a full meeting in the absence of the People Power Party, with opinions divided on whether to maintain some supplementary investigation rights for exceptional cases or to abolish them entirely.