DPK introduces fourth special counsel investigation bill accommodating PPP leader Han’s suggestion

A bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the death of Marine Corps Corporal Chae Su-geun that five opposition parties co-sponsored is submitted to the National Assembly on September 3. Courtesy of the National Assembly

The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) on September 3 introduced a fourth bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the death of Marine Corps Corporal Chae Su-geun, which includes a “special investigation by a third party recommendation.” The bill is a compromise between accepting a proposal by the ruling People’s Power Party (PPP) leader Han Dong-hoon to have the chief justice recommend special prosecutors and guaranteeing the opposition‘s right of veto. The strategy is to use the third-party recommendation as a leverage point to attract breakaway votes from PPP lawmakers. With the presidential office and the pro-Yoon Suk-yeol faction in the ruling party sticking to their stance that no special investigation bill can be enacted before the outcome of the investigation by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), it will be interesting to see if there are breakaway votes from the ruling party as many as the opposition expects.

The DPK submitted the special counsel investigation bill to the National Assembly’s parliamentary affairs division on Tuesday, co-sponsored by the opposition parties except the Reform Party. This is the fourth special investigation bill, following one in September last year and others in May and August this year. The previous two bills were scrapped after President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his right of veto and a re-vote at the plenary session, while the third bill, which was proposed in August, has been referred to the National Assembly‘s Legislation and Judiciary Committee.

The most significant feature of the fourth bill is that it contains a recommendation for special prosecutors from a third party, not the ruling or opposition parties. If the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court recommends four candidates for special prosecutors, the DPK and non-bargaining groups will select two candidates, one each, and the President will select the final one. If the candidate recommended by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is deemed inappropriate, the opposition parties, including the DPK, can request the Chief Justice to re-recommend a candidate through the National Assembly Speaker.

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the DPK, said at the floor meeting, "I hope that PPP leader Han directly clarifies whether the reports that he has abandoned the special investigation bill is true and whether he is willing to pursue it.” Park Sung-joon, the deputy floor leader of the DPK, said, "We are determined to pass the fourth special investigation bill in September," and announced his plan to present it to a general meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on September 4.

The DPK is also refining its strategy for the reintroduction of the bill, seeing Yoon’s veto as a constant. With the acceptance of Han‘s third-party recommendation, there are expectations that breakaway votes could come out from a re-vote. It would require a two-thirds majority of 200 lawmakers, and for this, eight votes must be secured from the PPP.

Even if the special bill is finally scrapped in the re-vote, some believe it will have the effect of cracking up within the ruling party. A member of the DPK floor leadership said, "Lawmakers from the poo-Yoon faction will complain about Han, who first brought up the third-party recommendation," adding, "Han could be shaken."

It is unclear whether there will be enough breakaway votes from the ruling party needed for the re-vote. The presidential office and the ruling party‘s pro-Yoon faction have maintained their opposition to the special investigation bill, citing the CIO’s investigation. Another factor that makes it difficult to attract cooperation from the ruling party is that the existing proposal, which included First Lady Kim Keon-hee in the investigation target, was included in the fourth bill. The fact that the opposition has been granted veto power could be used for justification to oppose Han.

Han met with reporters on the same day and expressed his negative stance on the third-party recommendation of the special investigation bill, which was proposed by the DPK, saying, "I saw the contents and there was not much change." But he reaffirmed his commitment to push ahead with the bill, saying, "My position remains the same." The remarks are interpreted as meaning that it is difficult to present a bill immediately and that it is difficult to agree to the DPK’s third-party recommendation bill.

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