Yoon vetoes special counsel bill to probe young Marine's death

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would establish a special counsel probe into the Defense Ministry’s handling of a Marine’s death last year.

Presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk speaks at a press briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday, where he announced President Yoon Suk Yeol's decision to veto a bill that would establish a special counsel probe into the Defense Ministry's handling of a Marine's death last year. [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vetoed a bill that would establish a special counsel probe into the Defense Ministry's handling of a Marine's death last year.

The president’s veto is his 10th since taking office two years ago.

The bill mandates the appointment of a special counsel to probe suspicions that the Defense Ministry and the presidential office meddled in the military’s official inquest into the death of Marine Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who drowned while conducting a search and rescue mission during heavy rain and flooding in July last year.

The special counsel probe bill was railroaded through the National Assembly by the liberal Democratic Party (DP), which holds a majority in the legislature.

However, the conservative People Power Party (PPP), which is aligned with the government, opposes the bill.

Yoon exercised his veto by endorsing a Cabinet motion passed earlier in the day that demanded the National Assembly reconsider the bill.

Speaking at an afternoon press briefing at the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, Yoon’s chief of staff Chung Jin-suk said the president vetoed the bill because the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials (CIO) are already conducting their own investigations into the case.

“A special counsel probe is an exceptional measure that should only be implemented if investigations by law enforcement agencies are inadequate or unreliable, but both the police and CIO are currently conducting their own probes in this case,” Chung said.

Speaking at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said that the executive branch “should respect the National Assembly’s legislative authority as much as possible,” but also argued that the bill passed by the legislature “has many problems,” particularly regarding how it was legislated and its stipulations for nominating a special counsel.

Han argued that special counsel probes in the past were “always” implemented with bipartisan support but that the DP unilaterally passed the latest bill.

The prime minister also criticized the bill for effectively giving only the DP the authority to nominate candidates for the special counsel position, which he argued could violate the president's constitutional prerogative to decide personnel appointments.

But Han promised the government would “do its best to unveil the truth” of Cpl. Chae's death and to address suspicions that the government interfered in the case.

Members of the liberal Democratic Party, the minor Rebuilding Korea Party and various civic groups hold a demonstration in front of the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, on Tuesday afternoon to criticize the president's veto of a bill mandating a special counsel probe into a young Marine's death last year. [YONHAP]

After the Cabinet meeting, DP floor leader Park Chan-dae said that his party is “not afraid of going to war,” implying it would try to override the president's veto either before the current 21st session of the National Assembly expires or after the new session convenes at the end of the month.

While the DP currently holds 155 seats in the 300-member legislature, its majority is set to expand to 175 seats after the new 22nd National Assembly opens at the end of the month.

A presidential veto can only be overridden if a majority of sitting lawmakers are present and two-thirds vote in favor of the bill.

The bill will also likely attract support from the minor liberal Rebuilding Korea Party, which won 12 seats in the new National Assembly during the April 10 general election.

The party's leader, former Justice Minister Cho Kuk, criticized Yoon for exercising his veto during a press conference held before an afternoon demonstration opposed to Yoon’s veto took place in front of the National Assembly.

According to Cho, Yoon’s veto “is extremely difficult to justify when the bill in question seeks to investigate allegations of wrongdoing by the president himself.”

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]