National Assembly rejects bill mandating special counsel investigation into death of Marine Corporal Chae

Members of the Marine Corps Reserve Regiment protest following the final defeat of bill mandating special counsel investigation into death of Marine Corporal Chae. By Park Min-kyu

In the final plenary session of the 21st National Assembly, a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun was finally rejected. Although the majority of the people called for a special counsel investigation, the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) blocked the passage of the bill after President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his right of veto. The opposition said it would propose the bill as the first bill in the 22nd National Assembly.

The National Assembly rejected the re-examination of the bill, with 179 votes in favor, 111 votes against, and four invalid votes out of 294 members present in the plenary session on May 28. As a result, the bill was automatically scrapped.

To reintroduce a bill vetoed by the president, more than two-thirds of the lawmakers present need to approve it. Along with opposition lawmakers from the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) and the Justice Party, PPP lawmakers Kim Woong, Ahn Cheol-soo, Yoo Eui-dong, Choi Jae-hyung and Kim Geun-tae agreed against the party's opinion and voted in favor of the bill but failed to meet the requirements for the passage of the bill. The PPP led the rejection of the bill after deciding it as the party’s opinion at the general meeting of lawmakers just before the plenary session.

The opposition parties argued that a special counsel investigation was needed, saying it was a power gate involving Yoon, while the PPP opposed the bill, citing the DPK’s intention to impeach the president and the ongoing investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO).

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the DPK, said, "It was a disastrous day for the National Assembly, which trampled on the people's voices to protect a handful of power.”

The opposition parties also passed the amendment to the Special Act on Jeonse Fraud, which supports victims in a “collection after relief" method, unilaterally in the absence of PPP lawmakers. They also handled four other bills alone, including the enactment of the Korean Beef Industry Support Act and the revision of the Special Act for Relief and Support for the Victims of the Sewol Ferry Sinking Disaster.

Yoon is expected to hold a Cabinet meeting on the 29th to decide on exercising his veto power over the special law on jeonse fraud.

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