National Assembly May Transfer Special Prosecutor Act as Early as Today... Presidential Office States "Attack and Veto Exercise Are Separate Issues"

The Timing of Veto Exercise Seems to Be Decided After Transfer

Allegations of stock price manipulation involving First Lady Kim Geon-hee (Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act) and bribery suspicions related to the 5 billion won club in the Daejang-dong development project (Daejang-dong 5 Billion Club Special Prosecutor Act), collectively known as the twin special prosecutor acts, are expected to be transferred to the government as early as the 4th. The Presidential Office plans to determine the timing for exercising the right to request reconsideration (veto) once the special prosecutor acts are handed over to the government.

On the 4th, a Presidential Office official told Asia Economy in a phone interview, "There has been a steady expectation that the National Assembly will transfer the special prosecutor acts to the government, but it has not yet been transferred," adding, "We will decide whether to handle it at a formal Cabinet meeting or hold an extraordinary Cabinet meeting after seeing the transfer." This can also be interpreted as an intention to avoid giving the impression of being preoccupied with exercising the veto right amid a focus on livelihood and policy schedules at the start of the new year.

Earlier, when the special prosecutor acts passed the National Assembly unanimously by the opposition parties on December 28 last year, the Presidential Office announced it would immediately exercise the veto upon transfer to the government. Considering the possibility that the special prosecutor acts might be transferred to the government the day before, the first Cabinet meeting of 2024, originally scheduled for 10 a.m. at the Government Complex Sejong, was postponed to 2 p.m., but since the bill was not transferred, the veto submission was also delayed.

On the 28th, at the plenary session held in the National Assembly, the bill concerning the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the bribery allegations related to Hwacheon Daeyu's '5 Billion Club' was passed. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

However, the internal atmosphere within the Presidential Office is that the veto will not be deliberately delayed considering the political situation. Regarding some speculation that the attack on Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, might be a variable, the stance is that it will have little impact. Another Presidential Office official explained, "The incident involving Representative Lee and President Yoon's veto exercise are completely separate matters," adding, "It will not affect the timing of the veto exercise."

Therefore, if the special prosecutor acts are transferred to the government on this day, it is expected that an extraordinary Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will be held as early as the 5th, or the veto will be reviewed and decided at the regular Cabinet meeting to be held next week.

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