이진숙, 5·18보상법 의도적 표결 불참?…손솔 “황당해 영상 찍어”

This past Monday, National Assembly member Byeong-sook was found not to have participated in voting on the 5·18 Democratic Movement-related legislation that was up for a vote. Progressive Party member Sohn Sol posted on X (formerly Twitter) an image of Byeong-sook sitting in the chair of the Speaker during the voting session, stating that "During the ongoing session, this member was sitting at the Speaker's chair and did not vote on the 5·18-related legislation."

Sohn Sol said, "This happened while the session was still ongoing. This member did not vote on the 5·18-related legislation." She added, "It's shocking. It's a blatant act of disrespect. Why are you doing this? Step down." Earlier on May 13th, Byeong-sook had participated in the '5·18 Democratic Movement's Rejuvenation Forum' co-hosted with New History National Movement, during which she made statements denying and ridiculing the "three weeks of turbulence in Guangzhou" (Professor Eong-hyun Lee of Seoul National University) and advocating for "isolating externally and dividing internally to resolve the 5·18 issue" (Joint President of the Freedom Writers Association).

This member has refused to apologize for the "freedom of expression" in hosting this forum. The two 5·18 Democratic Movement-related bills that Byeong-sook did not participate in voting for on this day were both two in number. When Sohn Sol took the picture, the vote on the '5·18 Democratic Movement-related Victims Compensation Amendment Act' that Byeong-sook had requested the representative to introduce was ongoing.

This bill included provisions to establish a special provision allowing 5·18 Democratic Movement victims to exercise effective compensation claims for mental damages. Out of the 185 members present on this day, 165 voted in favor, 8 voted against, and 12 abstained. Despite sitting on the Speaker's chair, Byeong-sook did not raise either a dissenting or abstaining vote.

She did, however, vote against the latter bill, '5·18 Democratic Veterans Welfare and Organization Establishment Act,' which aimed to establish a policy to prevent loneliness for 5·18 Democratic veterans. On the other hand, she voted in favor of subsequent bills seeking to establish policies for the prevention of loneliness for national soldiers, conscientious objectors, war-disabled veterans, and special mission veterans.