Yoon Exercises Third Veto on 'Kim Geon-hee Special Prosecutor Act'... Ruling and Opposition Parties to Revote on 10th Next Month (Comprehensive)

The 25th Vetoed Bill Since Yoon's Inauguration
Ruling and Opposition Parties to Hold Plenary Session on the 10th for Re-vote
Will 8 People from the People Power Party Defect?...Presidential Office Tightens Vote Control

President Yoon Suk-yeol is delivering a greeting at the 56th National Breakfast Prayer Meeting held at the Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul on the 22nd. Photo by Yonhap News

President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his power of reconsideration (veto) on the 'Special Prosecutor Act for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee,' which was passed by the National Assembly led by the Democratic Party of Korea on the 26th.

The National Assembly plans to hold a plenary session on the 10th of next month to reconsider the Special Prosecutor Act for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee. Both ruling and opposition parties intend to reorganize their internal ranks ahead of the reconsideration.

The Presidential Office announced in the afternoon, "President Yoon approved the 'Request for Reconsideration of the Special Prosecutor Appointment Act for the Stock Manipulation Case Involving Yoon Suk-yeol's Spouse Kim Geon-hee,' which was resolved at the Cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Duck-soo today."

The Special Prosecutor Act for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee has passed the National Assembly three times so far, but President Yoon exercised his veto not only today but also in January and October. The bills returned to the National Assembly at those times were ultimately discarded after re-voting.

With today's veto, the total number of times President Yoon has exercised his veto against opposition party bills passed unilaterally since his inauguration has increased to 25.

Earlier, Prime Minister Han presided over a Cabinet meeting at the Government Seoul Office in the morning and approved the recommendation to exercise the power of reconsideration on the Special Prosecutor Act for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee.

Prime Minister Han pointed out, "It is very regrettable and unfortunate that the opposition party once again unilaterally passed the Special Prosecutor Act, whose unconstitutionality has not been resolved at all."

The Presidential Office has maintained the position that the Special Prosecutor Act for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee is "clearly unconstitutional," so today's exercise of the veto was a predictable step.

At a national press conference on the 7th, President Yoon said, "Basically, no country lets the National Assembly decide whether to conduct a special prosecutor investigation, appoint the special prosecutor, and organize a vast investigative team. That clearly violates the separation of powers system in liberal democratic countries."

Democratic Party Floor Leader Park Chan-dae and other Democratic Party lawmakers held an emergency press conference on the 26th in front of the Presidential Office in Yongsan, Seoul, condemning the veto of the special investigation law on First Lady Kim Keon-hee. Photo by Yonhap News

As President Yoon approved the request for reconsideration, the Special Prosecutor Act has returned to the National Assembly to undergo the reconsideration process.

On the same day in the afternoon, Chu Kyung-ho, the floor leader of the People Power Party, and Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, met at the National Assembly under the chairmanship of Speaker Woo Won-shik and agreed to hold a plenary session on December 10 to re-vote on the Special Prosecutor Act for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee.

Floor leader Park told reporters, "Both ruling and opposition parties must participate in the vote with full force for the reconsideration of the Special Prosecutor Act," adding, "We agreed on December 10 as the date for reconsideration to allow both sides to prepare adequately by scheduling the date precisely."

The Democratic Party initially planned to reconsider the bill at the plenary session on the 28th but postponed the timing somewhat. This is interpreted as reflecting the opinion that it is more appropriate to reconsider at a time when they can maximize the number of defecting votes from within the People Power Party rather than rushing the reconsideration.

For the bill to pass reconsideration, it requires the approval of at least two-thirds (200 out of 300) of the total members of the National Assembly. Assuming all opposition members vote in favor, at least eight defecting votes must come from the 108 People Power Party members.

The Presidential Office is expecting the bill to be discarded. Chief Secretary Jeong Jin-seok and Senior Secretary for Political Affairs Hong Cheol-ho have recently dined with ruling party lawmakers one after another, and many in the political circle analyze this as an effort to secure votes ahead of the reconsideration of the Special Prosecutor Act for Mrs. Kim Geon-hee.