Despite Truce Proposal in Political Conflict... Democratic Party Submits Third Draft of Special Prosecutor Law on Cha Sang-byeong on the 8th

by Lee Dongwoo

Published 07 Aug.2024 15:20(KST)

Updated 07 Aug.2024 15:25(KST)

The Democratic Party of Korea decided to reintroduce the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act' on the 8th.

On the 7th, Han Min-su, the party spokesperson, met with reporters at the National Assembly and said, "As attempts to conceal crimes continue, the Democratic Party has decided to reintroduce the Special Prosecutor Act in order to heed the people's mandate." This will be the third time the Democratic Party has reintroduced the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act.

The newly proposed Special Prosecutor Act will include additional investigation targets. This is based on the intention to uncover allegations of 'lobbying for exoneration' against Im Seong-geun, former commander of the 1st Marine Division, raised by Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Investment.

Since Lee is currently on trial related to the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation case, if he is included as an investigation target, there is also a possibility that First Lady Kim Geon-hee could be subject to a special prosecutor investigation.

Lee Jae-myung, former leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and Assemblyman Jeong Cheong-rae are conversing during the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 29th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

However, the 'third-party recommendation method special prosecutor' proposed by Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, was not considered. The spokesperson said, "I understand that there are calls within the People Power Party to slow down the Special Prosecutor Act process," and dismissed Han's 'third-party recommendation' as clearly a stalling tactic.

Previously, the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act was passed solely by the opposition party in the plenary session just before the end of the 21st National Assembly, but President Yoon Seok-yeol exercised his veto power, leading to a revote and the bill's eventual dismissal. The second proposal was introduced as the opposition party's first bill at the opening of the 22nd National Assembly, but it was again blocked by the president's veto and revote.