'Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Act' Passed in Plenary Session... Yoon Plans to Exercise Veto Rights

Special Prosecutor Law on Kim Gun-hee Passed in Plenary Session Led by Opposition
Final Approval 245 Days After Fast-Track Designation
Presidential Office "Plans to Veto Immediately Upon Transmission"

The special prosecutor law to investigate allegations of stock price manipulation involving Kim Geon-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, related to Deutsche Motors, was passed in the National Assembly plenary session on the 28th. The presidential office plans to exercise its 'veto power' immediately upon transmission.

On the same day, the National Assembly held a plenary session in the afternoon and put the 'Special Prosecutor Appointment Act for the Truth Investigation of Deutsche Motors Stock Price Manipulation Allegations Involving the President's Spouse Kim Geon-hee' to a vote. With all ruling party members walking out, only 180 opposition party lawmakers, led by the Democratic Party of Korea, participated in the vote, and all voted in favor.

On the 28th, the National Assembly plenary session passed the bill concerning the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations of stock manipulation involving Kim Gun-hee, the president's spouse, related to Deutsch Motors. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

The special prosecutor law mandates an investigation into whether Mrs. Kim was involved in the Deutsche Motors stock price manipulation case around 2010. In particular, before the plenary session, the opposition party submitted a revised bill to the National Assembly to prevent the People Power Party from having the right to recommend the special prosecutor even if President Yoon leaves the party. The amendment defines the recommending body for the special prosecutor as a negotiation group excluding the 'negotiation group to which the president belongs or belonged,' and if not a negotiation group, the 'party with the largest number of seats in the National Assembly.' This is interpreted as effectively granting the Democratic Party and the Justice Party the right to recommend the special prosecutor, excluding the ruling party entirely.

The ruling and opposition parties clashed fiercely, exchanging loud voices even before the vote.

Justice Party lawmaker Bae Jin-kyo explained the proposal, saying, "According to the first trial judgment of former Deutsche Motors Chairman Kwon Oh-soo, the president's spouse Kim Geon-hee held Deutsche Motors stocks in six accounts, and price manipulation occurred in at least three of those accounts." He pointed out, "Nevertheless, there has not been a single summons investigation of the president's spouse Kim Geon-hee to date." He repeatedly emphasized, "Even the president's spouse should not be an exception to the rule of law."

First Lady Kim Geon-hee [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the other hand, Park Hyung-soo of the People Power Party opposed, saying, "Is it fair to have a law that unilaterally allows only the opposition party to recommend the special prosecutor without agreement from both ruling and opposition parties?" He added, "Can a special prosecutor appointed in such a way be considered neutral? It would be better if Representative Lee Jae-myung appointed the special prosecutor." He criticized the so-called 'poisonous clause,' pointing out, "The scope of investigation can be infinitely expanded, and compared to other special prosecutor laws, it is highly likely to be unconstitutional in terms of fairness and proportionality."

The dual special prosecutor law was designated as a fast-track bill led by the opposition party in April and passed the plenary session after 245 days. During the Moon Jae-in administration, the prosecution investigated allegations of Mrs. Kim's involvement in this case for over two years but failed to establish related charges. The Democratic Party filed a complaint with the prosecution in April 2020, accusing Mrs. Kim of participating in stock price manipulation, and brought the matter to the special prosecutor stage.

Meanwhile, the presidential office immediately announced its intention to exercise the 'veto power (request for reconsideration).' Lee Do-woon, the chief spokesperson, said in a briefing right after the dual special prosecutor law passed the plenary session, "The 'dual special prosecutor' bill has now passed in the National Assembly," and added, "The president will exercise veto power immediately once the bill is transmitted to the government."

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