Yoon again vetoes special probe into Marine's death

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday again vetoed a controversial bill mandating a special counsel probe into allegations that the presidential office and the Defense Ministry meddled in an investigation into a young Marine's death last year.

President Yoon Suk Yeol [YONHAP]

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday again vetoed a controversial bill mandating a special counsel probe into allegations that the presidential office and the Defense Ministry meddled in an investigation into a young Marine's death last year.

"The special counsel bill, unilaterally pushed by the opposition party, must now be withdrawn as the police investigation results released yesterday have clarified the substantial truth and responsibility," the presidential office said Tuesday. "There should be no more instances of exploiting the tragic death of a Marine, who died performing his duty, for political purposes."

A Marine corporal named Chae Su-geun drowned while conducting a search and rescue mission during heavy rain and flooding on July 19 last year.

The bill, railroaded by the liberal Democratic Party (DP) in the National Assembly, aims to investigate allegations that the presidential office and the Defense Ministry exerted undue influence during the transfer of the investigation into the Marine's death from the Marine Corps investigation team to the police.

The bill was previously scrapped on May 28 when Yoon vetoed it after his Cabinet passed a motion demanding the 21st National Assembly reconsider it. The DP proposed the bill again as their first bill after the new 22nd National Assembly session began in late May, expanding the scope of the investigation and broadening the party's authority to recommend a special prosecutor.

The presidential office has maintained that the special counsel bill, which grants the opposition party the authority to recommend the special prosecutor, infringes upon the President's power to appoint public officials and violates the separation of powers, deeming it unconstitutional.

Yoon, currently in the United States to attend the NATO summit, electronically approved the reconsideration request about three hours after the Cabinet passed it.

Prime Minister Han Duck-soo also criticized the bill for including provisions undermining the criminal justice system, such as "deeming the special prosecutor appointed if not named within a certain period" and "granting the special prosecutor the authority to dismiss charges in ongoing trials." He emphasized that the "unconstitutional" bill cannot be a solution for uncovering the truth.

"We hope that the spirit of dialogue and agreement between the ruling and opposition parties is restored, ending the vicious cycle of legislative overreach by the opposition and the government's exercise of veto power," said Han during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning.

The DP plans to push for a re-vote on the bill before the first anniversary of Chae's death on July 19 after Yoon exercises his veto.

On Monday, the police announced the results of their investigation into Chae's death, referring six field commanders at the scene at the time of the incident to the prosecution for charges of occupational negligence resulting in death.

However, Lim Seong-geun, the Marine Corps 1st Division commander at the time of the accident, was cleared of such charges and not referred to the prosecution. The DP had alleged that Yoon pressed for Lim's exclusion from the initial investigation findings by the Marine Corps investigation team, which had identified the former division commander as a suspect.

The Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) has been investigating the allegations of undue influence on the Defense Ministry for over ten months, as well as claims that the first lady lobbied to save Lim. However, investigations into higher-level officials, such as the minister or vice minister of defense, have yet to proceed.

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Tuesday announced plans to hold two hearings this month in response to an online petition calling for Yoon's impeachment.

The first hearing, scheduled for July 19, will focus on Chae's death and the allegations of undue influence on the investigation.

The second hearing, set for July 26, will address allegations that the first lady was involved in stock manipulation and received a luxury handbag from a Korean-American pastor. The committee selected first lady Kim Keon-hee and her mother as witnesses to testify at the hearing.

BY SEO JI-EUN [seo.jieun1@joongang.co.kr]