After 55 Days Since Yoon's Veto... Both Kim Geon-hee and Daejang-dong Special Prosecutor Bills Rejected Again in Re-vote

171 Votes in Favor of Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law... Fewer Than Daejang-dong Special Prosecutor Law
Minister Park Seong-je: "Previous Government's Prosecution Couldn't Even Summon Mrs. Kim"
During Debate... Loud Exchanges Between Ruling and Opposition Parties

Two bills for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate allegations of stock price manipulation involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, and bribery allegations related to the 5 billion won club in the Daejang-dong development project were brought back to the National Assembly plenary session and voted on, but both were rejected. This result came 55 days after President Yoon rejected the dual special prosecutor law, ultimately leading to the failure of the special prosecutor investigations into Kim’s stock manipulation allegations and the Daejang-dong bribery allegations.

The bill concerning the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the allegations of stock manipulation involving Kim Geon-hee, the spouse of the president, is being rejected in the plenary session of the National Assembly on the evening of the 29th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the afternoon of the 29th, the ruling and opposition parties held a vote in the National Assembly plenary session on the "Bill on the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor for the Truth-Finding of the Stock Price Manipulation Allegations of President’s Spouse Kim Keon-hee" (Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Bill). Out of 281 members present, 171 voted in favor, 109 against, and 1 invalid vote, resulting in rejection. Additionally, the "Bill on the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor for the Truth-Finding of the Hwacheon Daeyu 5 Billion Club Bribery Allegations" (Daejang-dong Special Prosecutor Bill) was also rejected with 177 votes in favor and 104 against out of 281 members present. Since the bills were returned to the National Assembly after the President exercised his right to request reconsideration (veto), passage required a quorum of more than half of all members and at least two-thirds of the members present to vote in favor. The vote was conducted by secret ballot in accordance with Article 112, Paragraph 5 of the National Assembly Act.

The government explained that the dual special prosecutor law would lead to excessive investigations and could obscure the truth. Justice Minister Park Sung-je referred to the Kim Keon-hee stock manipulation case as the "Deutsche Motors case," stating, "The prosecution under the previous administration conducted a rigorous investigation for over two years, which was criticized as excessive, yet they neither indicted nor even summoned Kim Keon-hee." He added, "If Kim Man-bae and others gave money as a price for the development project, the counterpart must naturally be a close aide of Lee Jae-myung, then mayor of Seongnam and now leader of the Democratic Party, who had the authority for permits, and this has been confirmed through actual trials."

The ruling and opposition parties clashed in the National Assembly. While Minister Park was making his statement, opposition members shouted, "Investigate Kim Keon-hee" and "What are you saying?" In response, ruling party members shouted back, "Stop it" and "Listen quietly." The shouting continued until Minister Park finished his statement. Even during the members’ debates, both ruling and opposition lawmakers loudly filled the plenary hall.

Minister of Justice Park Sung-je is explaining the reason for the motion request at the National Assembly plenary session on the 29th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

The dual special prosecutor law was returned to the National Assembly on the 5th of last month after President Yoon exercised his veto. This was just eight days after it passed the National Assembly on December 28 of last year. Although there is no specific deadline for reconsideration of a vetoed law, re-votes have typically been held within about two weeks. However, it took over 50 days for the dual special prosecutor law to be voted on again. At the previous plenary session, the Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor bill passed unanimously with all 180 members present voting in favor, and the Daejang-dong special prosecutor bill also passed unanimously with all 181 members present voting in favor.

The Kim Keon-hee special prosecutor bill included investigations into allegations of stock price manipulation of Deutsche Motors involving Kim Keon-hee and her family, preferential purchases of stocks in other listed companies, and additional cases identified during the investigation process. The Daejang-dong special prosecutor bill targeted individuals related to Hwacheon Daeyu and Seongnam Utd, who are suspected of bribery and illegal lobbying involving the 5 billion won club, as well as individuals whose charges were revealed during the investigation.

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