Park Chandae's Three Reasons for Confidence in the 'Kim Geonhee Special Prosecutor'

Strengthening Pro-Myeong Regime and Parliamentary Control
Securing Chairmanships of Legislation and Operations Committees to Push Forward
Using Broad Opposition Coalition as Pressure Card

Park Chan-dae, the newly appointed floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, has taken out the card of 'relaunching the special investigation law on First Lady Kim Keon-hee,' putting pressure on the government and ruling party. Analysts interpret this as a strategic move to strongly pressure the government to shift its national policy stance by bringing to the forefront suspicions surrounding President Yoon Seok-yeol's family. Regarding President Yoon's press conference on the 9th, Park emphasized, "He should clarify his position on the special investigation law proposed by Chae Sang-byeong and the special investigation law concerning First Lady Kim Keon-hee's stock manipulation allegations." Internally, this appears to be aimed at solidifying the pro-Lee Jae-myung (pro-Lee) system, while externally, it seeks to strengthen the opposition's grip on the National Assembly.

If the Democratic Party reintroduces the eight bills that President Yoon vetoed (requested reconsideration) during the 22nd National Assembly, the government and ruling party will face considerable pressure from the start of the parliamentary session. Although President Yoon is highly likely to exercise his veto power again, this is expected to significantly burden efforts to restore public sentiment, which has already fallen to the low 30% range, by undermining the cooperative atmosphere with the opposition.

The increasing likelihood that the Democratic Party will secure the chairmanships of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the Steering Committee is another reason why Floor Leader Park is pushing for the special investigation law. This reflects a determination not to repeat the situation in the 21st National Assembly, where the ruling party had conceded the chairmanship of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and where decision-making was delayed due to the committee's checks on various bills. Political circles expect that if the Democratic Party takes control of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, most bills that check the Yoon administration, including major special investigation laws and prosecution reform laws, will pass through the floor.

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, is attending the floor strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the 7th. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

The cooperation of the broad opposition bloc, which holds 192 seats, can also be used as a card to pressure the ruling party. If the sequence proceeds as the proposal of the Kim Keon-hee special investigation law → President Yoon's veto → re-vote in the National Assembly, the Democratic Party is likely to attempt to rally the broad opposition for the reconsideration vote. According to Article 53 of the Constitution, if two-thirds or more of the members present, with a majority of the total members in attendance, approve a bill on reconsideration, the government has no choice but to accept it.

Floor Leader Park has declared the completion of reform tasks in the 22nd National Assembly. After forming the floor leadership team that day, he even named it the 'Reform Task Force,' repeatedly emphasizing the urgency of passing bills. He appointed elected members Yoon Jong-gun, Noh Jong-myeon, and Kang Yoo-jung as the new floor spokespersons, and appointed elected members Song Jae-bong, Park Min-gyu, Ahn Tae-jun, Boo Seung-chan, Jo Gye-won, Kwak Sang-eon, Lim Kwang-hyun, Jung Jun-ho, Kim Tae-seon, Mo Kyung-jong, Kim Yong-man, Jeong Eul-ho, and Kim Nam-hee as floor deputy representatives.

Floor Leader Park said, "The people gave us a great task in the general election. It is to firmly check the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, and the rest is for the Democratic Party to responsibly complete the reform tasks." He added, "The Democratic Party must respond to the people's mandate, and the 22nd National Assembly must become a reform assembly that takes action."