Destination-like but... Similar yet Different 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act'

Democratic Party VS Justice Party, Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Bills Proposed
Differences Over Special Prosecutor Targets and Appointment Methods
Disagreements on Special Prosecutor Law Handling Methods

The Democratic Party of Korea proposed a special prosecutor law on the 9th to investigate allegations of stock manipulation involving Kim Geon-hee, the wife of President Yoon Seok-yeol. The Justice Party is also pushing for the proposal of a special prosecutor law related to Mrs. Kim, but differences in stance with the Democratic Party have been confirmed. Both parties agree on pursuing a special prosecutor, but disagreements over the detailed methods seem unresolved.

On the same day, the Democratic Party introduced the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law' that had been prepared within the party. Since the Democratic Party has expressed its position to handle the special prosecutor law through designation as a fast-track bill requiring 180 votes in favor, the six seats held by the Justice Party are crucial. However, considering the significant differences in detailed content between the two sides, attention is focused on whether a compromise will be reached. The Democratic Party explained that it submitted the bill first and is separately preparing a final special prosecutor bill within the opposition parties.

First, regarding the scope of the special prosecutor, the Democratic Party's proposal stipulates that the special prosecutor should investigate not only allegations related to stock manipulation involving Deutsche Motors but also the illegal sponsorship and bribery suspicions related to exhibitions by Cobana Contents. On the other hand, the Justice Party's proposal limits the investigation to the preferential treatment allegations related to Deutsche Motors stock manipulation and allows expansion only to illegal acts by related parties if criminal charges are revealed during the investigation.

There are also differences between the two sides in the method of recommending the special prosecutor.

According to the Democratic Party's special prosecutor law, the authority to recommend two candidates for the special prosecutor is granted to the negotiation group not affiliated with the president (i.e., the Democratic Party). The president must appoint one of these two as the special prosecutor.

In contrast, the Justice Party's proposal allows both the 'negotiation groups not affiliated with the president' and 'non-negotiation parliamentary parties' to recommend two candidates, whom the president then appoints.

The Justice Party has already begun the signature process for this special prosecutor law proposal.

Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers Shin Jeong-hoon and Yang Kyung-sook submitted the Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Act to the National Assembly Secretariat in Yeouido, Seoul, on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The Democratic Party and the Justice Party also have differing views on the method of processing the special prosecutor law.

The Democratic Party believes that the Kim Geon-hee special prosecutor law should be designated as a fast-track bill and handled at the latest during the regular session of the National Assembly. Jin Seong-jun, the Democratic Party's senior deputy floor leader, appeared on KBS Radio's Choi Kyung-young's Strong Current program the day before and explained that designating it as a fast-track bill would allow the People Power Party to begin review, mentioning that considering the 180 days for the Judiciary Committee review and 60 days for the plenary session deliberation period, it could only be handled around the end of this year's regular session.

On the other hand, Lee Eun-joo, the Justice Party floor leader, emphasized that "the important thing is to promptly enter the Judiciary Committee procedure according to the National Assembly Act," showing a difference in approach. Unlike the Democratic Party, which insists on fast-track designation to prevent indefinite delays by the Judiciary Committee, the Justice Party prefers to first proceed properly through the formal Judiciary Committee procedures.

Regarding the special prosecutor law proposed on this day, the Democratic Party stated, "Considering the deliberation period for the enactment of the law, we first proposed the Democratic Party's Kim Geon-hee stock manipulation special prosecutor law and will complete the final special prosecutor law through consultations with other opposition party lawmakers to be handled at the plenary session," adding, "The final special prosecutor law, completed through opposition party cooperation, will be promoted by all Democratic Party lawmakers as sponsors."

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