Park Beom-gye “Reviving the 2nd Annex Office? What the People Want Is a Special Investigation on Kim Gun-hee”

Park: "There is no other way than a special prosecutor"

President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his right to request reconsideration (veto) on the so-called double special prosecution laws, including the ‘Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act’ and the ‘Daejang-dong 5 Billion Club Special Prosecutor Act.’ Park Beom-gye, a former Minister of Justice under the previous administration and a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, stated that “there is no other way but a special prosecutor.”

Opposition party lawmakers and officials from the Democratic Party of Korea, the Justice Party, the Basic Income Party, and the Progressive Party held a rally on the steps in front of the National Assembly main building on the 5th, urging President Yoon Seok-yeol to accept a special investigation into the 'Kim Gun-hee·5 Billion Club'. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

On the 8th, Park appeared on SBS radio program ‘Kim Tae-hyun’s Political Show’ and said, “Under the Criminal Procedure Act, there is a recusal system to avoid trials involving people with whom one has a conflict of interest. This case falls under the logic of recusal,” adding, “That is why the investigation has not been properly conducted, and even now, nearly two years after the president was elected, no conclusion has been reached.”

Currently, the Democratic Party views President Yoon’s veto of the special prosecutor law related to his spouse as a ‘conflict of interest’ and is considering filing a constitutional dispute petition with the Constitutional Court. Regarding this, Park advised, “The National Assembly is a forum for public debate. There needs to be a discussion on whether the president’s exercise of the veto on the special prosecutor law is right or wrong, and whether there is any unconstitutionality.”

In response to the Blue House’s move to propose measures such as establishing a second secretariat after exercising the veto, he said, “There is a saying in classical Chinese literature, ‘a medicine cabinet visit after the event,’ and also ‘locking the barn after the horse is lost.’” He sharply criticized, “Suggesting immunity for the first judicially convicted matter just because she became the First Lady does not align with public sentiment.”

He continued, “There is a public consensus that the special inspection officer system is absolutely necessary,” but drew a line by saying, “If that is abused as a reason to veto the special prosecutor law, the opposition party will inevitably have to recommend a very awkward candidate. It will be difficult for the ruling party to accept that.”

On the 5th, the Blue House began a full-scale review to establish a second secretariat to manage the schedules of the president’s spouse. The Blue House distanced itself from interpretations that this was an alternative to the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act. However, the Democratic Party criticized it as an attempt to divert public attention from the demand for a special prosecutor.

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