Democrats Pass '5 Billion Special Prosecutor Bill' Alone in Legislation Subcommittee... Will It Block Kim Do-eup Again?

Conflict Between Ruling and Opposition Over Special Prosecutor Nomination Authority
Push by Gi Dong-min: "Can No Longer Delay"
Ruling Party Lawmakers Walk Out Mid-Session: "Must Revote"

On the 11th, the Democratic Party of Korea unilaterally approved the '50 Billion Club Special Prosecutor Act' at the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's bill review subcommittee. Attention is focused on whether the special prosecutor bill, voted on amid the opposition party's mass walkout, will pass the full committee meeting.

On the same day, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held the first bill review subcommittee and examined three bills related to the 50 Billion Club Special Prosecutor Act. During the subcommittee, with members of the People Power Party leaving midway, Kang Eun-mi of the Justice Party proposed an alternative bill (Special Prosecutor Appointment Act for the Investigation of the Hwacheon Daeyu 50 Billion Club Bribery Allegation Case), which was approved.

Before the vote, lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties engaged in heated debate for over two hours. People Power Party members argued that the scope of the special prosecutor's investigation should be clearly defined and that the recommendation authority for the special prosecutor should not be assigned to non-negotiating parties.

The special prosecutor bill submitted by Kang stipulates the investigation targets as follows: ▲ Illegal lobbying and bribery related to the 50 Billion Club allegations involving Hwacheon Daeyu and Seongnam Utddeul affiliates (Item 1), ▲ Illegal acts committed by suspects identified during the investigation of Item 1 (Item 2), and ▲ Illegal acts related to the project funds of Hwacheon Daeyu and Seongnam Utddeul (Item 3).

In response, Jeong Jeom-sik, the ruling party's floor leader from the People Power Party, pointed out, "There is naturally a concern that the scope could be expanded beyond just Hwacheon Daeyu's 50 Billion Club based on the wording itself," adding, "If Items 2 and 3 are combined, it aligns with the scope of the ongoing investigation into the case involving Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party leader." Park Young-jae, Deputy Director of the Court Administration Office, also commented, "It is preferable to specify the scope more precisely," and added, "Anything beyond the law is illegal."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

In response, Lee Tan-hee of the Democratic Party argued, "The ambiguity of the investigation target has been a point of controversy, but in all 13 previous special prosecutor acts, all investigation targets have been defined in this way," and rebutted, "It is difficult to specify the exact scope of criminal investigations in special prosecutor acts as a matter of practice."

The ruling and opposition parties also clashed over defining the special prosecutor recommendation authority as belonging to 'parties not part of the negotiating groups.' Regarding the ruling party and Deputy Minister of Justice Ino-gong's claim that the recommendation right should be given to negotiating groups to ensure fairness, Democratic Party lawmaker Kwon In-sook countered, "The two parties that have not been investigated so far want to conduct the special prosecutor as non-negotiating groups to avoid criticism, but what does that have to do with fairness?"

When Ki Dong-min, the subcommittee chair, pushed for a vote saying, "We cannot postpone the discussion again without any guarantees," all ruling party members left the meeting room. Before leaving, Jang Dong-hyuk of the People Power Party stated, "If there are issues with the legal provisions, it is appropriate to create alternatives and then vote."

With the 50 Billion Special Prosecutor Act passing the subcommittee, the bill will now proceed to the full Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting. However, whether it will pass the full meeting remains uncertain. The committee chair is Kim Do-eup of the People Power Party, and Jo Jeong-hoon of the Transition Korea party, whose cooperation is necessary for the Democratic Party to push through the bill, holds a negative stance toward the special prosecutor bill.

Accordingly, the Democratic Party is expected to pursue the fast-track procedure for the special prosecutor bill. After the subcommittee, Chair Ki told reporters, "Looking at today's debate process, members of the People Power Party subcommittee actively participated," adding, "Unless the avoidance or deliberate delay of the 50 Billion Club or Kim Gun-hee special prosecutor is intended, it is appropriate to present their own alternative to the 50 Billion Club Special Prosecutor Act based on the spirit of the agreement made with the Justice Party."

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