Rival parties are clashing over the ruling party's criticism of the recent court ruling that put South Gyeongsang Province Governor Kim Kyoung-soo behind bars for his role in alleged opinion rigging.
The main opposition Liberty Korea Party(LKP) on Wednesday accused the ruling Democratic Party(DP) of trying to protect the presidential office from the opinion rigging scandal involving the power blogger "druking," adding it will push for a special investigation into the case.
The minor opposition Bareunmirae Party said the DP was damaging the judiciary's authority and challenging the separation of powers to save Kim, who is a close associate to the president.
The DP, which hosted media events on Tuesday to criticize the court's decision, said on Wednesday anyone can question the legality of a court ruling and that the court didn't follow the principles stated under criminal procedure laws.
The ruling party also denounced the LKP after former Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn, one of the LKP's leadership candidates, criticized the impeachment of former President Park Geun-hye.
Referring to Hwang's denial and recent comments by three LKP lawmakers that disparaged the 1980 Gwangju Democracy Movement, the DP said the LKP has insulted the South Korean people who defended democracy.