Democrats Launch All-Out Offensive from 'Yoon Impeachment Bill' to 'Special Investigation on Rebellion'

Emergency Martial Law Permanent Special Prosecutor and Treason Special Prosecutor Jointly Proposed
Political Instability, Negative Impact Spreading in Economy, Diplomacy, and Security
Yoon, Stepping Back to Second Line, Faces Pressure on Whether to Exercise Veto Power Against Special Prosecutor

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, expressed concern on the 9th that "President Yoon Seok-yeol's December 3rd national insurrection is causing significant negative damage to the country's credit rating."

At the Supreme Council meeting that morning, Lee said, "Currently, the foreign exchange and stock markets have been continuously shocked since the martial law, and a large amount of foreign capital withdrew within just three days last week." He warned, "(The emergency martial law) is placing an enormous burden on the South Korean economy, and the cost will ultimately be paid by us in installments later. In the end, the people suffer damage."

Immediately after the National Assembly rejected the impeachment motion against President Yoon, the opposition parties including the Democratic Party launched an all-out offensive ranging from reintroducing the impeachment motion to a special investigation into the martial law insurrection. The reason behind the opposition's comprehensive impeachment attack on the government and ruling party is the rapid spread of political uncertainty not only in the economy but also in diplomacy and security. The opposition has labeled the state governance system under Prime Minister Han Duck-soo and People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon as a "second insurrection" without legal grounds, and adopted a strategy of large-scale public opinion campaigns demanding President Yoon's immediate resignation and impeachment.

On the same day, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, led by the opposition, reviewed the "Special Prosecutor Investigation Request for the Truth-Finding of the Unconstitutional Martial Law Declaration and Insurrection Acts." Earlier, the opposition including the Democratic Party proposed a permanent special prosecutor bill on the 6th. The plan is to swiftly submit the bill as an agenda item for the plenary session on the 10th after review by the first subcommittee on bill examination and the full committee meeting. Unlike the general special prosecutor law, the permanent special prosecutor law does not allow the president to exercise the right to request reconsideration, enabling faster investigation.

The permanent special prosecutor bill requests investigations into a total of 11 cases related to President Yoon's martial law. Representative cases include △ allegations of insurrection related to President Yoon's unconstitutional and illegal declaration of martial law that does not meet the requirements △ suspicions of active involvement by Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun in recommending the unconstitutional and illegal martial law declaration △ Commander Park An-su's unconstitutional proclamation of the martial law command and the suspicion of deploying military units to the National Assembly.

Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is speaking at the Supreme Council meeting held at the National Assembly on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Separately, the Democratic Party also proposed the so-called "Insurrection Special Prosecutor Law" on the 9th to investigate the process of President Yoon's martial law declaration. Additionally, they are preparing to reintroduce the "Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Law," which was rejected in the plenary session, for processing on the 12th, and plan to submit impeachment motions against Minister of Justice Park Seong-jae and Commissioner General of the National Police Agency Cho Ji-ho for a vote together on the 12th after reporting in the plenary session on the 10th.

They are also pushing for the reintroduction of the second impeachment motion against President Yoon. After reinforcing evidence related to the president's insurrection crimes, the Democratic Party plans to report it to the plenary session on the second day of the extraordinary session on the 12th and hold a vote on Saturday the 14th. Setting the 14th as the D-day for the second impeachment vote is intended to maximize the weekend public opinion battle. The Democratic Party has also begun considering impeachment motions against Prime Minister Han, who announced a joint national governance plan, and the "Han Dong-hoon Special Prosecutor Law" targeting leader Han.

Kim Seung-won, the opposition party secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Kim Yong-min, the senior deputy floor leader, are submitting the 'Special Investigation Act on Treason' and the 'Special Investigation Act on Kim Gun-hee' to the National Assembly Secretariat on the 9th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

There is also analysis that the large-scale special prosecutor bill proposed by the Democratic Party is a strategic move to elicit a practical response from President Yoon and the ruling party, who are cornered. Since President Yoon has effectively stepped back to a secondary role, whether he will exercise the right to request reconsideration (veto) on the special prosecutor law passed by the National Assembly, and how Prime Minister Han and leader Han will respond to the special prosecutor vote, will be disclosed to the entire nation in real time to maximize the public opinion battle.

Kim Min-seok, senior supreme council member of the Democratic Party, raised his voice, saying, "If the special prosecutor law is passed, (President Yoon's) veto is certain. If the veto is exercised, the public will realize how false the 'presidential duty exclusion' claimed by leader Han and Prime Minister Han is."

Park Chan-dae, floor leader, said, "The uncertainty amplified by the failure of President Yoon's impeachment is having a serious adverse effect on the domestic economy," and emphasized, "To minimize national confusion and public damage, uncertainty must be swiftly removed," adding, "We will promptly push for President Yoon's second impeachment, the special prosecutor investigation into the insurrection, and impeachment of related parties to swiftly end the insurrection crisis."

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