Jung Jin-seok: "If the Special Prosecutor Act for Chae Sang-byeong has constitutional issues, exercising veto is natural"

Attended National Assembly Steering Committee... Maintains Previous Position
Regarding Allegations Against First Lady Kim Keon-hee: "Vile Conspiracy"

Jung Jin-seok, Chief of Staff to the President, is responding to questions from lawmakers at the full meeting of the Steering Committee held at the National Assembly on the 1st. This Steering Committee meeting marked the first attendance of President's Office aides, including Chief of Staff Jung Jin-seok, since the opening of the 22nd National Assembly. Photo by Kim Hyun-min kimhyun81@

Jung Jin-seok, Chief of Staff to the President, stated on the 1st that regarding the 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act' promoted by the opposition, "A bill that is judged to have unconstitutional elements must naturally be subject to a veto (request for reconsideration)."

Jung attended the Steering Committee meeting held at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, and in response to a question from Kwon Young-jin, a member of the People Power Party, about the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act, he explained, "If the request for reconsideration is not exercised despite clear unconstitutional issues, it would be a dereliction of duty by the President."

Jung maintained his previous stance that the bill cannot be accepted unless both ruling and opposition parties reach an agreement on the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act.

He said, "Investigation and prosecution are powers of the executive branch, and since the head of the executive branch is the President, the special prosecutor appointment procedure conducted solely by the opposition party's recommendation violates the principle of separation of powers."

He added, "Since the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials and the prosecution are conducting intensive investigations, I believe it is not too late to propose a special prosecutor if the investigation results are found to be insufficient or inadequate after observing them."

Jung also denied allegations that President Yoon Suk-yeol was 'furious' regarding the investigation into the death of Chae Sang-byeong.

He said, "It has been about two months since he took office, so I am not aware of the details," but added, "I have not heard any talk of the President being furious or angry from any official in the Presidential Office."

The opposition claims that on July 31 last year, during a meeting of senior secretaries at the Presidential Office, President Yoon was 'furious' about the initial investigation results by the Marine Corps investigation team, and that subsequently, the Minister of National Defense exerted external pressure on the Marine Corps investigation team.

Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office of the Presidential Office, who attended the meeting at the time, also said on the same day, "President Yoon has never been furious during National Security Office meetings."

Meanwhile, regarding the suspicion of First Lady Kim Geon-hee receiving luxury handbags, Jung criticized, "A person named Pastor Choi Amu-gae intentionally approached by saying he was well acquainted with the First Lady’s late father," calling it "a low-level and despicable covert operation involving illegal recordings and filming."