South Korea’s ruling Democratic Party of Korea is pushing a special counsel bill toward a Thursday vote, alleging that prosecutions launched before Lee Jae Myung became president relied on fabricated evidence.
SBS and Seoul Economic Daily reported that the bill would examine alleged misconduct involving prosecutors, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and the Board of Audit and Inspection (BAI) during former President Yoon Suk Yeol’s administration. Yonhap reported that Lee’s cases are among those covered, including allegations tied to a development project and alleged remittances to North Korea. SBS identified the development case as Daejang-dong.
The Democratic Party says prosecutions involving Lee were politically motivated and relied on fabricated evidence. Democratic Party floor spokesperson Kim Sung-hoi said Tuesday that party lawmakers would support the bill as a group at Thursday’s plenary session, Yonhap reported.
The People Power Party, South Korea’s main opposition, opposes the measure. Its floor leader, Jeong Jeom-sig, accused the ruling party of seeking to stop trials involving Lee and his associates, The Korea Herald reported. Jeong raised the possibility of filibustering every bill if the special counsel proposal reaches the plenary session, SBS and Seoul Economic Daily reported.
An April draft drew public backlash over a provision that would have allowed a special counsel to cancel indictments against Lee, The Korea Herald reported. President Lee said in September that special counsel investigations into criminal indictments, including his own, should begin quickly. He urged the ruling party to remove the provision if it continued to hinder the bill’s progress, the outlet reported.
The Democratic Party says it plans to remove that provision from the bill it seeks to advance, SBS and Seoul Economic Daily reported. Committee consideration is expected Wednesday, Nov. 4, ahead of a possible plenary vote Thursday, Nov. 5. The Korea Herald reported that the Democratic Party’s majority could let it advance bills through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the full Assembly without opposition agreement.
