Democratic Party Proposes '1 Special Prosecutor, 4 Parliamentary Committees': Is It Feasible?

Democratic Party Submits 5 Requests for National Investigation in Current Government
Will Ruling Party Cooperate... "Might Attempt Many but May Not Complete All"

The Democratic Party of Korea is strengthening its offensive against the government and ruling party by expressing its intention to push for a '1 special prosecutor and 4 parliamentary investigations' into major issues, including allegations of presidential office involvement in the death of the late Corporal Chae Su-geun. However, another parliamentary investigation request submitted by the Democratic Party is currently pending, and it is uncertain whether they can proceed due to difficulties in obtaining cooperation from the ruling party.

The Democratic Party's call for one special prosecutor concerns investigating allegations of presidential office involvement in Corporal Chae's death. The four parliamentary investigations include demands to investigate ▲ preferential treatment allegations related to the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway ▲ dysfunctional operation of the Korea Communications Commission ▲ disruptions at the 2023 Saemangeum World Scout Jamboree ▲ and the underground overpass disaster in Osong, Heungdeok-gu, Cheongju, Chungbuk.

On the 16th, Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party, said at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly, "This administration seems to not value human life. It has been almost a month since Corporal Chae's incident occurred, yet no one has taken responsibility," adding, "We will promptly push for one special prosecutor and four parliamentary investigations into the five major incidents."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

However, the Democratic Party has already submitted requests for five parliamentary investigations.

Starting with the 'Parliamentary Investigation Request for Truth-Finding on Allegations Related to President Yoon Suk-yeol's Office and Residence and Private Hiring' (submitted on August 17 last year), this year they submitted requests for ▲ a parliamentary investigation into the humiliating solutions to forced labor during Japanese colonial rule and the submissive Korea-Japan summit (March 29), ▲ a parliamentary investigation into allegations of illegal political audits by Audit Chief Choi Jae-hae and Secretary-General Yoo Byung-ho (June 30), and ▲ a parliamentary investigation request for truth-finding on preferential treatment allegations related to the presidential family in the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway route change (July 27). These have been submitted to the National Assembly's legislative affairs office but remain pending due to strong opposition from the ruling party.

The only parliamentary investigation successfully conducted under this administration was the October 29 Itaewon disaster investigation (submitted on November 9 last year), but even then, the ruling party boycotted the final report, which was adopted solely by the three opposition parties. Even if the parliamentary investigation request passes the plenary session of the National Assembly based on a majority of seats, without cooperation from the ruling party in procedures such as forming the special parliamentary investigation committee, the process may drag on and eventually fizzle out.

There is skepticism within the Democratic Party as well. There are concerns that launching a full-scale offensive on multiple issues might result in no achievements at all.

Democratic Party lawmaker Ahn Min-seok argued that focus should be placed solely on the preferential treatment allegations related to the Seoul-Yangpyeong Expressway.

In an interview with YTN Radio's 'News King Park Ji-hoon,' Ahn said, "Politics is like life. When planning something, trying to do too many things at once can result in accomplishing nothing," emphasizing, "Instead of fighting internal battles over the many pressing issues within the Democratic Party, we should focus on the Kim Geon-hee (First Lady) Expressway gate during this autumn regular session of the National Assembly."

Democratic Party lawmaker Jang Cheol-min said on BBS Radio's 'Jeon Young-shin's Morning Journal,' "It is true that it looks difficult, but it is not because we lack capacity," adding, "It is not impossible, but the government and ruling party seem to have no intention of revealing the substantive truth behind the chaotic state of national issues."

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