Reapproval of Special Prosecutor Act... Ruling Party Cracks Down on Defectors
5 Including Ahn Cheol-soo and Kim Woong Expected to Support
Democratic Party to Have All 155 Lawmakers Attend
Park Ju-min, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, claimed that in the National Assembly plenary session scheduled for the afternoon of the 28th for the re-vote on the ‘Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act’ (Special Prosecutor Act on the alleged external pressure in the death case of Marine Corps member Chae Sang-byeong), there could be “up to 9 dissenting votes” from the People Power Party, meaning votes in favor.
The confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over the "Marine Corps Corporal Chae Special Prosecutor (Special Investigation) Act" and the National Pension reform plan is reaching its peak. The atmosphere in the National Assembly on the 28th, when the final plenary session of the 21st National Assembly is scheduled for a re-vote on the "Corporal Chae Special Prosecutor Act," is tense. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@
Park, who serves as the head of the Democratic Party’s task force investigating the death of the Marine Corps member, appeared on MBC Radio’s ‘Kim Jong-bae’s Focus’ on the same day and said, “I had phone calls or meetings with eight members of the People Power Party the day before, and among them, one clearly said they would cast a favorable vote, and three said they were seriously considering it.”
So far, five members of the People Power Party (Kim Geun-tae, Kim Woong, Ahn Cheol-soo, Yoo Ui-dong, and Choi Jae-hyung) have publicly expressed their intention to support the bill.
When asked whether these were different individuals from the five who had publicly expressed support, Park said, “They are completely different people, and one of those I met mentioned that ‘there is another current within the party.’ I did not press further as it was open to interpretation, but I took it to mean that while the party officially decided to oppose the bill and the leadership is actively managing votes, there is also a different current within the party.”
He added, “Even if it’s not as many as 17 votes, if more than 10 dissenting votes come from the ruling party, it clearly shows that there are internal concerns about this issue. It would be evidence that quite a few lawmakers agree and are contemplating the need to redefine the ruling party-government relationship and address various issues that have been pointed out.”
The Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act was passed solely by the opposition in the National Assembly plenary session on the 2nd of this month, while the ruling People Power Party had walked out. Subsequently, President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his veto on the act, which was approved at the Cabinet meeting on the 21st.
For a bill vetoed by the president to be passed again in the National Assembly, a majority of the total members must be present, and at least two-thirds of those present must vote in favor. Currently, the 21st National Assembly has 295 members excluding independent lawmaker Yoon Kwan-seok, who is detained. If all members participate in the re-vote, the quorum for approval is 197 votes, meaning at least 17 dissenting votes from the People Power Party are required for the Special Prosecutor Act to pass.
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