Democratic-Justice, Disagreement on 'Special Prosecutor' Solution: "Fast Track" vs "Not the Right Way"

Park Hong-geun "Ruling party unlikely to cooperate in Judiciary Committee review"
Urgent cooperation from Justice Party needed for fast-track designation
Lee Jeong-mi "It could become a slow track"

Both the Democratic Party of Korea and the Justice Party have decided to pursue a special prosecutor investigation regarding the Daejang-dong 5 billion Club and Kim Geon-hee's stock manipulation allegations, but they still show differences in their approaches to the solution. The Democratic Party intends to push for the designation of a fast-track (rapid processing agenda) during the March extraordinary session of the National Assembly, while the Justice Party emphasizes handling the matter through maximum bipartisan agreement.

Park Hong-geun, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 8th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 8th, Park Hong-geun, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, met with reporters after the 'Livelihood Recovery Project Continuous Forum' held in the afternoon at the National Assembly and expressed skepticism, saying, "Isn't it unlikely that the chairman of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee (who is a member of the People Power Party) or ruling party members would cooperate in reviewing this special prosecutor law in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee?"

Park said, "It is very desirable and fortunate that the Justice Party has taken a progressive stance by announcing its intention to propose the special prosecutor laws for the 5 billion Club and Kim Geon-hee," but added, "However, the Justice Party still says it will go through the procedures of the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee." This is interpreted as emphasizing once again that the People Power Party will not easily accept the dual special prosecutor investigation led by the Democratic Party, and that fast-track designation is inevitable.

Park stated, "For now, we will first urge a swift review in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee as requested by the Justice Party," but added, "(However) the answer is already obvious. We cannot just wait indefinitely," showing his determination to push for the dual special prosecutor investigation through the fast-track process.

However, at least 180 seats are required to designate a fast-track, and with 169 seats, the Democratic Party is in a situation where cooperation with the Justice Party, which holds 6 seats, is crucial. Even if all five independent lawmakers with Democratic leanings are combined, if the Justice Party does not cooperate with the fast-track, it could be in vain.

Park said, "After cooperating and collaborating with the Justice Party's position to handle the special prosecutor law through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee review, if there is still no possibility of review in the committee, then we will inevitably designate it as a rapid processing agenda in the plenary session of the National Assembly." He explained that such a tough response could bring about changes in the government and ruling party's attitude or pressure on the prosecution's investigation.

However, the Justice Party expressed a negative stance on the fast-track designation on the same day.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Lee Jeong-mi, leader of the Justice Party, appeared on CBS Radio in the morning and said, "The process of enforcing and promoting the special prosecutor law within the National Assembly requires making the best effort according to parliamentary procedures," and pointed out, "Fast-track is 'rapid agenda processing,' but it can become a slow track."

Lee said, "The biggest limitation of the fast-track is that even if it passes the plenary session of the National Assembly, all investigations stop afterward."

She explained, "Even within the National Assembly, the bill can only be dealt with after 180 days," adding, "So, while it is okay to propose the special prosecutor law, you have to wait idly for six months afterward." Since the fast-track under the National Assembly Act requires a deliberation period of 60 days before actual submission and 180 days for the Legislation and Judiciary Committee review, totaling 240 days, she emphasized that it is meaningful to seek resolution of public suspicions through bipartisan consultations within the National Assembly as much as possible.

Lee said, "Regarding the special prosecutor investigation for Mrs. Kim, there are already three bills that have been proposed, but now the Democratic Party is planning to submit another bill. The Justice Party has also said it will propose a bill, so we need to discuss how to handle the bills within the National Assembly," and added, "If we skip all these processes and say we must do fast-track unconditionally, that would be problematic."

In this regard, the Democratic Party does not intend to pressure the Justice Party more strongly.

Park said, "The method and validity raised by the Justice Party are reasonable, so for now, we see this as a stage to observe more and cooperate and collaborate."

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