President Yoon exercises his right of veto on special prosecution acts about his family

President Yoon Seok-yeol exercised his right of reconsideration (veto) over the so-called \

President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his right of veto on the two Special Prosecution Acts, which investigate first lady Kim Keon-hee's alleged stock price manipulation and bribery suspicions on a development project in Daejang-dong, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province. It has been pointed out that the president's use of the veto power for himself and his family is a conflict of interest. There are also criticisms that the president abused his constitutional rights that should be used exceptionally and that he went against overwhelming opposition to the veto.

Some pointed out that Yoon's veto of the two special prosecution acts may conflict with the conflict of interest law, which prohibits public officials from pursuing private interests in the performance of their duties. Yoon's veto of the special prosecution bill about Kim blocked an investigation into his spouse's alleged irregularities, and his veto of the Daejang-dong special prosecution bill blocked the possibility that it could lead to raise questions about his investigation into Busan Savings Bank when he was a prosecutor.

Han Sang-hee, a professor at Konkuk University's School of Law, said on January 7, “Even if the veto is at the president's discretion, the request to reconsider the special prosecutor act about Kim constitutes a conflict of interest, extremely narrowing the room for discretion. Yoon's exercise of veto is an anti-constitutional dictatorship."

Hong Ihk-pyo, floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party, criticized, "No president in the past has ever refused an independent counsel or prosecution investigation for himself and his family." Yoo Seong-min, a former lawmaker and a member of the ruling People's Power Party, also pointed out that "a country where people in power and their families are equal before the law is a true democratic republic."

Yoon's excessive use of veto power has also been criticized. Since taking office, Yoon has vetoed eight bills passed by the National Assembly. In the 2000s, former President Roh Moo-hyun vetoed the most bills with six, whose number Yoon surpassed in less than two years in office. Former presidents Lee Myung-bak (once), Park Geun-hye (twice), and Moon Jae-in (none) rarely used their veto power. In particular, Yoon became the first president to veto investigations into corruption related to himself and his family, which is in contrast to previous presidents who did not veto investigations involving themselves. Former President Lee Myung-bak faced the special investigation into the “Naegok-dong private residence allegation” and former President Park Geun-hye the special investigation into the "manipulation of state affairs by Choi Soon-sil.”

The exercise of veto power is also contrary to Yoon's past remarks and actions. As a presidential candidate, Yoon said, "Why do you reject an independent counsel investigation, because you are guilty?" in response to then-Democratic Party candidate Lee Jae-myung’s refusal to the Daejang-dong special prosecutor's investigation. Yoon touted his sanctuary-free investigations of living power as a political asset, including the National Intelligence Service election meddling case during the Park Geun-hye administration and the investigation of former Justice Minister Cho Kuk as prosecutor general. However, after he became a man in power, he has undermined his own political base by refusing to face a special prosecutor's investigation.

Yoon's veto also goes against the will of the public. In a number of New Year's polls, 60 to 70 percent of Koreans disapproved of Yoon's veto of the special prosecution acts. According to a survey of 1,001 people conducted by The Kyunghyang Shinmun on December 29 and 30 last year, 62 percent said it was inappropriate, significantly higher than the 23 percent who said it was appropriate.

Conservative circles are concerned that the issue of Kim Keon-hee has had negative impacts ahead of the general election in April. It is said that the Yoon Suk-yeol government has raised the public's perception that Kim is above the law in the Yoon administration as she was rumored to have hired acquaintances and visited luxury stores during her overseas trips, a video of receiving luxury bags was released recently, and Yoon's veto of a bill over Kim’s stock price manipulation allegations. A lawmaker of the PPP said, "The opposition party knew that Kim's issue was our Achilles' heel and prepared for special prosecutor’s investigations in time for the general election, but we were not prepared even though we knew it."

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