The ruling Democratic Party on Thursday welcomed the National Assembly’s approval of an arrest motion for former People Power Party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho, calling the outcome a natural consequence of allegations that he'd obstructed a vote to lift martial law and aided an insurrection.

Party spokesperson Kim Hyun-jung said Choo should stop “hiding behind privilege and excuses” and instead clarify his charges in court, arguing that failing to act at a critical moment amounted to supporting an insurrection.

People Power Party lawmakers, on the other hand, walked out of the chamber in protest as voting began, denouncing the decision as political persecution.

PPP leader Jang Dong-hyeok said the vote marked “the end of parliamentary democracy,” likening the plenary chamber to a “people’s tribunal” and insisting he was certain the warrant would be rejected.

Floor leader Song Eon-seog accused the ruling camp of twisting critical remarks into claims of martial law collusion, calling the prosecution’s narrative “a piece of a fantasy novel.”