Democratic and Justice Parties Join Forces for 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor'... Will the March National Assembly Boost 'Double Special Prosecutors'?

Change in Stance After Protest Visit to the Supreme Prosecutors' Office
"'Dead Prosecution' Shrunk to 'Yongsan District Prosecutors' Office'"

On the 7th, as the Justice Party initiated the proposal for a special prosecutor (special investigation) into Kim Geon-hee's alleged stock manipulation of Deutsche Motors, the so-called 'double special investigations' led by the opposition are expected to gain momentum in the March extraordinary session of the National Assembly.

Lee Eun-ju, the floor leader of the Justice Party, stated at a party meeting held at the National Assembly on the same day, "The Justice Party will begin proposing the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act,' focusing solely on the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The Justice Party, which has already proposed a special prosecutor act regarding the 'Daejang-dong 5 Billion Club' bribery case, is expected to align with the Democratic Party's call for 'double special investigations' by also initiating the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor act. Until now, the Justice Party shared the Democratic Party's stance on swiftly pushing for the 5 Billion Club special prosecutor but had taken a somewhat reserved position on the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor, stating that they needed to observe the prosecution's investigation.

Even when exchanging opinions with the floor leaders of the Democratic Party and the People Power Party the day before about pushing for the 5 Billion Club special prosecutor, the Justice Party refrained from commenting on the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor act, saying, "It was not a topic of discussion today." The Justice Party, which seemed to be at odds with the Democratic Party on the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor act, changed its stance after visiting the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in protest, urging the summons of Kim Geon-hee the day before.

Floor leader Lee said, "Yesterday, we visited the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in protest to immediately demand the summons of Kim Geon-hee," adding, "What the Justice Party confirmed at the meeting yesterday was not a 'living prosecution' but a 'dead prosecution' shrunk to the Yongsan District Prosecutors' Office." He continued, "The prosecution kept repeating the absurd claim like a parrot that they did not know whether they had requested Kim's summons or if she had refused to appear despite the request, and that they have no authority to direct the investigation," criticizing, "The claim of no authority to direct the investigation is just an excuse, and the honest answer is that they are receiving investigation directives from the Yongsan Presidential Office and the Ministry of Justice." He emphasized the proposal of the special prosecutor, saying, "The Kim Geon-hee Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case can no longer be left to the prosecution."

With the Justice Party initiating the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor act on this day, attention is focused on whether the 'double special investigations' advocated by the Democratic Party can be pushed forward in March.

Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, said at the morning floor strategy meeting, "The Democratic Party will work with the Justice Party to process the 5 Billion special prosecutor act according to procedure and will definitely finalize the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor act as well."

Lee Su-jin, the floor spokesperson, told reporters after the meeting, "The main agenda for the March National Assembly is to designate the two special prosecutor acts as fast-track bills and push them forward." She explained, "Regarding the double special investigations, the 5 Billion Club special prosecutor act was proposed last week, and the investigation targets of the 5 Billion Club will include the 5 Billion Club itself, the flow of funds in the Daejang-dong project, preferential real estate transactions, and illegal activities."

The Democratic Party also emphasized its willingness to actively cooperate and find common ground with the Justice Party on the parts where there were differences, such as the recommendation method for the 5 Billion Club special prosecutor.

Separately from the Justice Party's proposal of the 5 Billion special prosecutor act, the Democratic Party has also proposed its own 5 Billion special prosecutor act. The Democratic Party argues that the scope of the 5 Billion Club special prosecutor should include investigating the Busan Savings Bank loan corruption allegations, which President Yoon Seok-yeol investigated as the chief prosecutor. Furthermore, the special prosecutor candidates are specified to be recommended by two members from parliamentary negotiation groups that the president does not belong to, effectively allowing the Democratic Party to recommend candidates alone, which differs from the Justice Party's approach of having the special prosecutor recommended by non-negotiation groups.

However, the day before, the Democratic Party emphasized cooperation with the Justice Party, stating that the inclusion of the negotiation groups recommending the special prosecutor in the bill was only considering representativeness.

On this day as well, Floor Leader Park said, "If the Justice Party proposes a recommendation method for the special prosecutor that the public can sufficiently agree with, we will gladly accept it," adding, "Since the original intention was to follow public representation, National Assembly precedents, and procedural legitimacy, there is no reason to reject the Justice Party's proposal."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.