Right of veto ‘by and for President’

Lawmakers from six parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, and civil society activists from across the political spectrum hold a joint press conference in front of the National Assembly to condemn President Yoon Seok-yeol\'s veto of the Special Prosecutor\'s Act on the 21st. It was Yoon\'s tenth veto since taking office. Cho Tae-hyung

President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his right of veto over a bill mandating a speical counsel investigation into the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun on May 21. Yoon's rejection of the special bill, which also regards Yoon as a target of the investigation, is expected to intensify the controversy over “bulletproof veto power.” The opposition strongly criticized the move, calling it a “rejection of the people's will in the general election.”

Yoon exercised his veto over the bill in the form of approving a request for exercising his right of veto, which was approved at the Cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo. It is Yoon's 10th veto since taking office and the first since the crushing defeat in the April 10 general election.

"As the president with a responsibility to protect the constitution, he has no choice but to ask the National Assembly to reconsider the bill that excessively infringes on the power of the administration,” presidential Chief of Staff Chung Jin-suk said in a briefing, citing the lack of agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, the fact that related investigations are ongoing, and the formation of a special prosecution team led by opposition parties.

"The president has already expressed his intention to watch the investigation of the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, and if there is a suspicion or if there is no conviction, I will claim to conduct a special counsel investigation first," Chung added. "The government will do its best to find out the actual truth of the death case and resolve public suspicions."

Returning to the National Assembly, the re-vote of the special bill is likely to take place at the plenary session on May 28. The key to the re-decision is breakaway votes from the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP). If 17 out of 113 PPP members vote in favor of the bill, it will meet the re-decision requirement. Even if the re-decision fails, the political situation will continue. The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) plans to re-promote the special counsel investigation bill in the 22nd National Assembly if it is rejected in the re-vote. In the 22nd National Assembly, Yoon's veto power will be nullified if only eight lawmakers from the PPP vote in favor of the bill as the ruling party only secures 108 seats in the next National Assembly.

On the same day, Yoon also approved the appointment of Oh Dong-woon, the new chief prosecutor of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials. Oh will lead the investigation into the death case of Corporal Chae.

Six opposition parties and civil society groups, including the DPK, held a press conference at the National Assembly and condemned Yoon's veto. “The regime has declared that it will fight against the people, while saying it apologizes to the people in words,” said Lee Jae-myung, a leader of the DPK. “We must definitely judge the Yoon regime, which kicked the last chance given by the people."

The opposition is planning to hold a large-scale outdoor rally in downtown Seoul on May 25 to criticize Yoon's veto.

※This article has undergone review by a professional translator after being translated by an AI translation tool.