Presidential Office Suggests Veto, Citing Unconstitutionality of Kim Geon-hee, Special Prosecutor Law for Chae Sang-byeong, and Local Currency Law

"Exercise of the President's Reconsideration Request Right Is Both Duty and Responsibility"
"No Compromise on Laws Forced Through Solely by the Opposition"
"Welcomes Compensation for MapleStory Damage"

President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife Kim Keon-hee are waving their hands in greeting from Air Force One, their official aircraft, as they return home on the 22nd after completing an official visit to the Czech Republic at Seongnam Seoul Airport.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

On the 23rd, the Presidential Office indicated the exercise of President Yoon Seok-yeol's right to request reconsideration regarding the 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act,' 'Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act,' and 'Local Currency Act,' which were recently passed in the National Assembly plenary session led by opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea, calling them "unconstitutional and illegal."

A Presidential Office official said during a press briefing at the Yongsan Presidential Office, "It is both a duty and responsibility for the president to exercise the right to request reconsideration on unconstitutional and illegal bills."

The official emphasized, "We will not compromise on laws that are unconstitutional, illegal, and were unilaterally pushed through by the opposition without social consensus."

Regarding the Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act, the official pointed out, "It is effectively a bill that allows the opposition to direct investigations, violating the constitutional principle of separation of powers," and added, "Furthermore, by allowing a special prosecutor recommended by the opposition to investigate allegations or complaints raised by the opposition, it undermines the judicial system where complainants cannot arbitrarily choose investigative agencies and officers."

Regarding the Chae Sang-byeong Special Prosecutor Act, the official criticized, "It violates the principle of separation of powers and denies the existence of the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO), which is already conducting investigations, forcibly established by the Democratic Party," and added, "There is a high risk of defamation of investigation subjects through real-time briefings and concerns about trial by public opinion."

Concerning the 'Local Currency Act (Act on the Promotion of Local Love Gift Certificates),' the official stated, "By mandating the issuance of local love gift certificates, it infringes on the autonomy of local governments," and "It also violates the government's constitutional right to budget formulation."

They further added, "There is concern that a large budget will go to local governments with sufficient financial capacity, such as those in the metropolitan area, exacerbating the rich-get-richer, poor-get-poorer phenomenon," and "While the consumption stimulation effect is minimal, side effects such as price and interest rate distortions are expected."

Meanwhile, the Presidential Office official also expressed a welcoming stance on Nexon Korea's commencement of damage compensation applications related to probability manipulation of paid items in the game 'MapleStory.'

The official said, "We welcome that many game users will be compensated through this collective dispute mediation with Nexon," and "We hope this will be an opportunity for the gaming industry to regain trust."

Earlier, the Korea Fair Trade Commission ordered corrective measures and imposed a fine of approximately 11.6 billion won on Nexon for altering the probability structure of probability-type items (Cubes) sold in the MapleStory game to reduce the appearance of highly preferred popular options. About 5,800 item purchasers applied for collective dispute mediation.

Subsequently, the Korea Consumer Agency's Dispute Mediation Committee decided that Nexon must pay the MapleStory item purchasers who participated in the collective dispute mediation Nexon Cash equivalent to 3.1% of Red Cube usage and 6.6% of Black Cube usage, which can be refunded in cash.