Opposition Proposes Special Prosecutor Bill Including 'Veto Power'... "To Be Processed Within September"

Yoo Kim Sang-hoon "Third-party special prosecutor, difficult to get party consent"

The opposition parties have reintroduced the Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae, which allows the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to recommend a special prosecutor but also enables the opposition to request a re-nomination. The opposition plans to pressure the ruling party by processing the Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae within this month. The ruling party has expressed difficulty in agreeing to the so-called 'third-party recommendation method.'

Park Sung-jun of the Democratic Party of Korea (from the left), Jeong Chun-saeng of the Party for National Innovation, and Yoon Jong-oh of the Progressive Party are submitting the Special Act on the Investigation of Fallen Marines jointly proposed by the five opposition parties to the National Assembly's Legislative Affairs Office on the 3rd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The five opposition parties?the Democratic Party of Korea, the Innovation Party for Justice, the Basic Income Party, the Progressive Party, and the Social Democratic Party?submitted the bill for the Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae on the 3rd at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul. Independent lawmaker Kim Jong-min, who left the New Future Party, participated in the bill submission, but the Reform Party was excluded from the reintroduction discussions of the Special Prosecutor Act.

This Special Prosecutor Act stipulates that if the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court recommends four candidates for the special prosecutor, the Democratic Party and non-negotiating parties each recommend one candidate to the president, which is the so-called 'third-party recommendation method.' Additionally, if all four candidates recommended by the Chief Justice are deemed inappropriate, the opposition has the 'veto right' to request a re-nomination. Furthermore, the investigative agencies and personnel will be increased compared to the existing Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae.

The allegation of a tip-off operation was not included in the Special Prosecutor Act. Kim Yong-min, the Democratic Party's deputy floor leader, explained, "If the People Power Party wants to include the tip-off operation allegation in the Special Prosecutor Act, they can propose it. Since the law already allows investigation of recognized cases, if the special prosecutor believes it is a crime, they can recognize and investigate it."

The opposition explained that they accepted the third-party recommendation method proposed by Han Dong-hoon, the leader of the People Power Party, to pass the Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae. Jeong Chun-saeng, a lawmaker from the Innovation Party for Justice, said, "There was an internal consensus that progress must be made, including passing the Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae," adding, "If (Leader Han) runs away even though the opposition included what he promised in the bill, I think he is not qualified to remain as party leader."

He did not agree with the view that the ruling party would not support the Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae, which includes the veto right. Jeong said, "Isn't the Chief Justice appointed by the president? Since the recommendation comes from the Chief Justice, I think it is only natural to include a procedure that allows the opposition to have some involvement."

The opposition plans to process the reintroduced Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae within this month. However, the timing of the process is expected to vary depending on the situation in the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. Park Seong-jun, the Democratic Party's deputy floor leader, said, "The Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae will be brought to the Judiciary Committee the next day," adding, "Since the Judiciary Committee plays the most important role, we will watch the meetings and subcommittee situations to determine the timing of the plenary session passage." Kim, the deputy floor leader, explained, "People Power Party lawmakers will also join the Judiciary Committee," and "Alternatives to the Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae may emerge in the Judiciary Committee."

However, it is expected that the ruling party will not accept the Special Prosecutor Act for Corporal Chae with the third-party recommendation method either. Within the party, there have been consistent opinions that they cannot agree to the Special Prosecutor Act itself, and recently it is known that even the pro-Han faction finds it difficult to accept the Special Prosecutor Act. Kim Sang-hoon, a People Power Party lawmaker appointed by Leader Han as the policy chief, said on YTN Radio the day before, "Even if we talk about the third-party recommendation method for the Special Prosecutor Act, the legislative process is a separate matter," adding, "There needs to be an internal opinion-gathering process and prior consultation with the government. In that process, I believe it will be difficult to get internal party approval for the Special Prosecutor Act."

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