The Democratic Party of Korea proposed the third Chaesangbyeong Special Prosecutor Act (Special Prosecutor Appointment Act for the Investigation of Obstruction and Cover-up of the Death of Marine Corps Sergeant Chaesangbyeong) on the 8th.
Kim Yong-min, the Democratic Party's Chief Policy Deputy Floor Leader, and Kim Seung-won, the Legal Affairs and Judiciary Committee Secretary, visited the National Assembly Secretariat in Yeouido in the afternoon to submit the Chaesangbyeong Special Prosecutor Act bill. The investigation target clause in the special prosecutor law explicitly included "the illegal lobbying suspicion case in which Lee Jong-ho and others requested Kim Geon-hee and others to plead for Im Seong-geun's exoneration."
Chief Policy Deputy Floor Leader Kim said, "The most important change from the second proposal is the expansion of the investigation target, including adding the suspicion of lobbying for the exoneration of former Marine Corps 1st Division Commander Im Seong-geun by Lee Jong-ho, former CEO of Black Pearl Invest. We also included a clause allowing evidence collection during the investigation preparation period, strengthening the special prosecutor system to make it more substantive."
Secretary Kim of the Legal Affairs Committee said, "Evidence related to Chaesangbyeong's death in the line of duty is being destroyed one after another, which is very frustrating. We just want to check the phone records once. Is that so frightening? Why does the ruling party exercise a veto on the most basic special prosecutor law that aims to find out what calls were made at that time?" he questioned.
Regarding the mention of Mrs. Kim Geon-hee as an investigation target, he emphasized, "If she is directly involved in the lobbying for exoneration, this is truly a state corruption. It is state corruption when unelected unofficial powers manipulate elected powers behind the scenes, and it is a form of governance that the constitution can never tolerate. I believe it must be revealed through investigation."
On whether to accept the third-party recommendation proposed by Han Dong-hoon, leader of the People Power Party, he explained, "Acceptance means it must be proposed first to be reviewed. I think the existing proposal is the best way to ensure the effectiveness of the special prosecutor. We have to consider two goals: making it easy to pass the special prosecutor law and whether substantial investigation can be conducted even if passing the law is difficult. Please understand."
Regarding the expectation that the president will veto the third proposal as well, Chief Policy Deputy Floor Leader Kim assessed, "It is very different from the first and second special prosecutor law proposals. There is speculation that four defecting votes from the People Power Party appeared in the second re-vote. The third special prosecutor law comes at a time when public interest and anger have grown, making it difficult for the People Power Party to continue ignoring the people's voice."
Park Chan-dae, floor leader of the Democratic Party of Korea and acting party leader, said at a press conference marking his 100th day in office that morning, "Only 104 votes opposed during the previous reconsideration vote. There were at least four defecting votes from the ruling party. Public sentiment can exert considerable pressure on the ruling party."
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