Government Holds Cabinet Meeting and Approves Request for Reconsideration
Han: "Many Issues... Potential Violation of Separation of Powers"
The government has passed a resolution to request reconsideration of the 'Special Prosecutor Act on the Investigation of the Death of Marine Corps Corporal Chaesang (Marine Corps Special Prosecutor Act).' If President Yoon Seok-yeol approves this, it will be the tenth bill on which he has exercised his veto power since taking office.
On the morning of the 21st, the government held a Cabinet meeting at the Government Complex Seoul, chaired by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, and passed the resolution to request reconsideration of the Marine Corps Special Prosecutor Act. If President Yoon approves, the Special Prosecutor Act will undergo a reconsideration process in the National Assembly. The deadline for President Yoon to exercise his reconsideration right (veto) is the 22nd.
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 21st. [Photo by Yonhap News]
Prime Minister Han stated, "The executive branch must respect the legislative authority of the legislature to the fullest extent, but this bill has many issues in the decision-making process and the method of recommending the special prosecutor." He added, "This Special Prosecutor Act was forcibly passed solely by the opposition party in terms of procedure, and substantively, it grants the opposition exclusive rights to recommend special prosecutor candidates, infringing on the president's personnel authority," pointing out that "it is highly likely to violate the constitutional principle of 'separation of powers.'"
The government's argument is interpreted as meaning that the bill, which deprives the executive branch of its constitutional powers, was passed solely by the opposition party without agreement from the executive branch and the ruling party, thus violating the separation of powers.
Prime Minister Han also pointed out as problematic the Democratic Party's filing of complaints with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) against former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop and officials from the Presidential Office, and their attempt to create a separate special prosecutor to investigate the same case. He said, "We cannot help but deeply worry about the provision that allows the opposition party, which filed the complaint against the investigation target, to determine the investigative agency, target, and scope by itself," adding, "This undermines the fundamental principles of the current judicial system that guarantee the fairness and reliability of investigations and trials." He also mentioned other issues such as "the specially appointed prosecutor, who may be biased, being able to hold real-time press briefings" and "the excessive allocation of investigative personnel compared to the investigation target."
Prime Minister Han Duck-soo is speaking at the Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on the morning of the 21st. [Image source=Yonhap News]
This Special Prosecutor Act was passed solely by the opposition party led by the Democratic Party of Korea in the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 2nd and was sent to the government on the 7th.
President Yoon stated at the press conference marking his second anniversary in office on the 9th that he would "observe the ongoing investigation and judicial procedures" regarding the Special Prosecutor Act, but as of now, it seems likely that he will approve the reconsideration request as early as this afternoon.
The National Assembly can convene a plenary session to vote on the bill again as soon as it is returned. If the bill passes the reconsideration vote with a majority of the total members present and at least two-thirds approval of those present, the president cannot veto the bill again. If it is rejected, the bill will be discarded. If the reconsideration vote is not held by the end of the 21st National Assembly's term on the 29th, the bill will be automatically discarded.
Meanwhile, the People Power Party reaffirmed its 'unacceptable' stance on the Marine Corps Special Prosecutor Act the day before, and the Democratic Party announced that if the bill is discarded due to President Yoon's veto, it will reintroduce it as the 'No. 1 bill' immediately after the opening of the 22nd National Assembly.
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