General Election Political Storm... Fierce Confrontation Between Ruling and Opposition Ahead of Twin Special Prosecutor Bills Passage

Likely to Pass Dual Special Prosecutor Bill in Plenary Session
Ruling Party: "Election Law" vs Opposition: "No Sanctuary"
Possibility of Itaewon Special Law Also Raised

The so-called 'double special prosecution law' concerning the special investigations into allegations of stock manipulation involving Kim Gun-hee, wife of President Yoon Suk-yeol, and the 5 billion won club scandal in Daejang-dong is scheduled to be processed in the plenary session on the 28th. Even after the special prosecution law passes the plenary session, the president's right to request reconsideration (veto power) and the National Assembly's possibility to request reconsideration remain. The political landscape ahead of the general election has been swept up in the storm of the double special prosecution law.

On the 28th, the Democratic Party of Korea (167 seats) and the Justice Party (6 seats) plan to process the double special prosecution law in the plenary session. The double special prosecution law, designated as a fast-track bill led by opposition parties including the Democratic Party in April this year, will be automatically submitted to the plenary session on this day as the 60-day deliberation period expires.

The opposition parties are maintaining their stance on pushing through the bill. Hong Ik-pyo, floor leader of the Democratic Party, said in a CBS radio interview, "It has been almost two years since we discussed the bill with the People Power Party regarding the possibility of negotiating the double special prosecution law, but there has not been a single negotiation during that time," adding, "I have not received any contact from Han Dong-hoon, the emergency committee chairman of the People Power Party."

At the policy coordination meeting on the same day, Floor Leader Hong refuted the points that Chairman Han and others had pointed out as toxic clauses in the double special prosecution law. He emphasized, "We are proceeding faithfully according to the National Assembly Act procedures and the principle and standard that there are no sanctuaries before the law. This is not a subject for dispute or political strife."

There is analysis that if the special prosecution is launched, the suspicion of Kim Gun-hee receiving luxury handbags could also become a subject of investigation. Floor Leader Hong said, "Depending on who the special prosecutor is, if they have the will, I think it could be done," adding, "Some interpret that it might be possible among legal professionals, while others say it is not."

Yoon Jae-ok, floor leader of the People Power Party, claimed on the 28th regarding the processing of the double special prosecution law, "The 5 billion won club special prosecution law, which aims to take the Daejang-dong case investigation away from the prosecution to shield the party leader's judicial risk, and the Deutsche Motors special prosecution law, which aims to insult the president and his wife, are very bad election laws planned to disrupt popular sovereignty."

The National Assembly plenary session hall. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

He continued, "When the Democratic Party made a political backroom deal with the Justice Party last April, they had already planned to dirty the general election atmosphere with ugly political strife to cover up judicial risks and spread slander and agitation," and defined, "There are reports that the number of investigators for the 5 billion won club special prosecution will be further expanded, which is an additional collusion to enlarge the political special prosecution."

Meanwhile, on the same day’s plenary session, there is also a possibility that the ‘10·29 Itaewon Disaster Special Act’ will be submitted. Earlier, the Democratic Party attempted to submit the special law through consent to change the agenda in the plenary session on the 21st, but the bill’s processing was delayed due to Speaker Kim Jin-pyo’s insistence on bipartisan agreement. Lim Oh-kyung, spokesperson for the Democratic Party floor, explained, "A meeting between the floor leaders of both parties and the Speaker is scheduled, and if no agreement is reached, we have the determination to at least pass the Speaker’s revised proposal." Previously, Speaker Kim proposed a mediation plan to delete the special prosecution clause from the Itaewon special law and postpone the law’s enforcement until after the general election.