PPP storms out of key committee meeting as DP greenlights two special counsel bills

Members of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) stormed out of a parliamentary committee meeting on Wednesday after lawmakers from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) greenlit two special counsel probe bills opposed by the government.

Chairs on the right side of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee meeting room in the National Assembly are left empty after lawmakers from the People Power Party stormed out to protest Democratic Party members' decision to approve two controversial bills. [NEWS1]

Members of the conservative People Power Party (PPP) stormed out of a parliamentary committee meeting on Wednesday after lawmakers from the liberal Democratic Party (DP) greenlit two special counsel probe bills opposed by the government.

Together with other minor liberal parties, the DP holds a majority of seats in the National Assembly’s powerful Legislation and Judiciary Committee, which is responsible for approving bills to be presented to the floor of the legislature.

The bill that was approved by the committee on Wednesday calls for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee’s alleged involvement in a stock price manipulation scheme, her acceptance of a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor and accusations that she interfered in the general election held in April.

Although the bill has a high chance of being passed in a floor vote by the legislature, where the DP holds 175 out of 300 seats, it is likely to be vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol after he rejected a similar bill in January.

Presidential vetoes can only be overridden if more than two-thirds of lawmakers vote in favor of a rejected bill.

The other special counsel bill approved by the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday targets the military’s handling of a young Marine corporal’s death last year.

The DP has already pushed three similar bills through the National Assembly, though Yoon vetoed all of them.

The latest iteration of the bill tasks the chief justice of the Supreme Court with nominating four candidates to the special counsel position, with two to be shortlisted by the DP and other liberal parties before a final selection by the president.

The DP has argued that a special counsel probe is necessary to investigate allegations that the presidential office and Defense Ministry meddled in the military’s investigation into the death of Cpl. Chae Su-geun, who drowned during a search and rescue mission amid heavy rain and flooding in July last year.

However, the presidential office has argued that a special counsel probe should only take place after the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police have concluded their investigations.

By contrast, PPP leader Han Dong-hoon suggested that his party could back a probe into the military’s response to Chae’s death if the special counsel is selected by a neutral third party.

Han previously noted that earlier iterations of the bill gave the DP the authority to select a special counsel, which he suggested could influence the probe’s findings.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday also adopted a report endorsing Kim Bok-hyeong’s nomination to the bench of the Constitutional Court as well as a bill promoting the use of local currency vouchers to help boost the economy.

BY MICHAEL LEE [lee.junhyuk@joongang.co.kr]