"Is This a Party Leader Congratulatory Greeting?"... Ruling Party Reacts to Han Dong-hoon and Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Law Targeting

Legislation Committee Discusses Special Prosecutor Law for Han Dong-hoon and Kim Geon-hee
People Power Party Lawmakers Protest, Pointing Out Unfairness

On the 24th, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee began discussions on the 'Han Dong-hoon Special Prosecutor Act' and the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act.' The ruling party opposed the committee's discussion itself, arguing that the two bills are not subject to special prosecutor legislation. The ruling party publicly expressed discomfort, saying, "Is this how you congratulate the newly elected party leader?" The opposition party stated its intention to push forward with the review of the pending bills.

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a plenary meeting that morning to discuss three original bills, three petitions, and three bills from other standing committees. The first agenda item was the Han Dong-hoon Special Prosecutor Act, introduced by Park Eun-jung of the Joguk Innovation Party. This bill aims to investigate allegations related to Han Dong-hoon, former Minister of Justice, including misconduct during his tenure as prosecutor and minister, and suspicions of ghostwriting his children's theses. The second agenda item, the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act, targets seven major allegations related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee, including the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation suspicion, luxury bag acceptance allegations, and preferential route changes on the Yangpyeong Expressway.

The ruling party protested the irrationality of the two bills. Song Seok-jun of the People Power Party stated during a procedural speech, "The first bill raises suspicions about actions that were properly conducted as a prosecutor and Minister of Justice," and added, "These are matters that could have been clarified during the confirmation hearing, so why treat them as a major national incident requiring a special prosecutor?" He also challenged Jeong Cheong-rae, chairman of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, saying, "The second bill concerns matters currently under investigation and is not subject to a special prosecutor."

On the 24th, at the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly, Yusangbeom, the ruling party's floor manager, is protesting to Chairman Jeong Cheong-rae. Photo by Hyunmin Kim kimhyun81@

Park Jun-tae, from the same party, expressed regret, saying, "The Legislation and Judiciary Committee repeatedly claims that people's livelihoods are difficult, yet once again has put forward politically charged special prosecutor bills. They only talk about impeachment special prosecutors," and protested, "The new party leader, Han Dong-hoon, was elected at the party convention, so is this how you congratulate him?"

In response, Chairman Jeong said, "The six original bills submitted to the committee were not arbitrarily put forward by me," and explained, "Since the 22nd National Assembly convened on May 30 and 31, I have submitted the bills pending in the committee as the chairman." He added, "Whether it is the Han Dong-hoon Special Prosecutor Act or the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act, they should be submitted first, and the handling process should be decided through intense debate."

The committee also put forward the 'Livelihood Recovery Support Fund Payment Bill,' a general election pledge of former Democratic Party leader Lee Jae-myung. This bill proposes providing regional love gift certificates worth 250,000 to 350,000 won to all citizens. The ruling party plans to initiate unlimited debate (filibuster) if contentious bills such as the Livelihood Recovery Support Fund Bill are submitted to the plenary session on the 25th.