DP railroads unprecedented special investigation of first lady

The National Assembly on Thursday railroaded a pair of bills to enable special counsel probes into alleged stock manipulation involving first lady Kim Keon Hee and a land development scandal in Seongnam.

The National Assembly, controlled by the Democratic Party, passes a bill to enable a special counsel probe into alleged stock manipulation involving first lady Kim Keon Hee in a parliamentary plenary session in Yeouido, western Seoul, Thursday. The People Power Party boycotted the vote. [YONHAP]

The National Assembly on Thursday railroaded a pair of bills to enable special counsel probes into alleged stock manipulation involving first lady Kim Keon Hee and a land development scandal in Seongnam.

The presidential office immediately declared that President Yoon Suk Yeol planned to exercise his veto power against the bills.

The liberal Democratic Party (DP), which holds a parliamentary majority, passed the two special probe bills in a plenary session of the National Assembly as the People Power Party (PPP) boycotted both votes.

The PPP has vehemently opposed the DP's unilateral push for a special probe, calling it a "malicious" ploy to attempt to distract voters with just about 100 days left until next April's general elections.

The DP passed the bill to form a special independent counsel to investigate the allegations against the first lady with 180 votes.

Kim has been accused of being involved in manipulating the stock prices of Deutsch Motors, a BMW car dealer in Korea.

The former head of Deutsch Motors, Kwon Oh-soo, was convicted and given a suspended prison term last February on charges of manipulating the company's stock prices between 2009 and 2012 and conspiring with market players in violation of the Capital Markets Act. The DP has accused Kim of being one of the market players in the case, arguing that everybody has to answer to the law.

Kim has denied the allegations.

After the law goes into effect, the parliamentary speaker must request the president to appoint a top special counsel. The president, in turn, has to request a political party to recommend a special prosecutor candidate within three days.

The party with the right to recommend a special prosecutor must recommend two candidates who are lawyers with more than 10 years of experience within five days of the president's request, and the president must appoint one within three days.

Because the bill on the special probe on Kim prohibits the political party to which the president belongs from participating in the recommendation process, the DP and the Justice Party will exercise the right to recommend.

According to the bill, the special counsel can comprise up to 20 dispatched prosecutors, 40 dispatched public officials and 40 investigators if necessary.

The special counsel has 20 days from the appointment date to make the necessary preparations to perform their duties and must complete the investigation within 70 days. The investigation period could be extended by 30 days once with presidential approval. This could overlap with the timing of the April 10 elections next year.

Earlier in the afternoon, the DP, along with the minor Justice Party, passed with 181 votes in favor a bill for another special probe into six people accused of receiving at least 5 billion won ($3.8 million) in bribes in a land development scandal in Daejang-dong in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, from DP Chairman Lee Jae-myung's time as the city's mayor.

Under this bill, both the PPP and DP can’t recommend candidates for special counsel, and minor parties such as the progressive Justice Party will have the right to recommend lawyers with more than 15 years of experience.

The bills allow for the special counsels to brief the press on the investigation to guarantee the public's right to know.

The special counsel bills were put on a parliamentary fast-track system in April, enabling them to be tabled automatically at a plenary session after an eight-month deliberation period.

People Power Party lawmakers hold a rally protesting the duo of special probe bills railroaded by the Democratic Party on the steps of the Rotunda Hall at the National Assembly in Yeouido, western Seoul, Thursday. [NEWS1]

The PPP held a rally in protest of the bills outside the chamber at the National Assembly, accusing the DP of trying to "disrupt" public sentiment by attacking Yoon and his wife.

Yun Jae-ok, PPP's floor leader, said that compromising with the DP "is tantamount to giving in to democratic terrorism" and requested that the president immediately exercise his right to a veto.

The PPP also accused the DP of trying to cover up for Chairman Lee, who has been facing legal woes over allegations of his involvement in the land development scandal and a case over illegal remittances to North Korea.

In a press briefing minutes after the vote, Lee Do-hoon, senior secretary for press affairs, said, "The double special counsel bills have been passed in the National Assembly. The president will immediately exercise his veto once the bills are transferred to the government."

However, the president also could face backlash if he overturns the bill, having already exercised his veto power twice before already, which could affect public sentiment ahead of the elections.

A senior presidential official told reporters that special probes must be made through consensus between rival parties, as they have in the past.

"It seems to be the first time that a bill has been passed so blatantly targeting the elections," the official said, with the parliamentary elections just over four months away.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]