Will the Special Prosecutor Act Be Addressed at the Plenary Session on the 27th?
Key Witness Fails to Appear for Myeong Inquiry
As the Constitutional Court's impeachment trial of President Yoon Suk-yeol approaches its final stages, the political sphere has seen the 'Myeong Taegyun Special Prosecutor Act' emerge as a new flashpoint.
The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee will hold the 1st Subcommittee on Bill Examination on the 17th to review the 'Myeong Taegyun Special Prosecutor Act.'
The opposition parties view President Yoon's declaration of emergency martial law on December 3 as an attempt to conceal suspicions related to First Lady Kim Geon-hee contained in the so-called 'Myeong Taegyun Golden Phone.'
Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated at a press briefing the previous day, "President Yoon knew that if Myeong Taegyun's 'Golden Phone' were made public, both he and Kim Geon-hee would suffer fatal damage," adding, "I judged that he declared martial law to prevent that."
On the other hand, the ruling party dismissed this as "nonsense."
Kwon Seong-dong, the floor leader of the People Power Party, said at a party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly that "The Democratic Party is fomenting a national crisis with the Myeong Taegyun Special Prosecutor Act based on delusional fiction," and demanded, "They should stop the special prosecutor law offensive aimed at avoiding Lee Jae-myung's judicial risks and instead unite across party lines to support the government's efforts to overcome the national crisis."
The special prosecutor law was jointly proposed on the 11th by six opposition parties (the Democratic Party, the Party for Innovation and Justice, the Reform Party, the Progressive Party, the Basic Income Party, and the Social Democratic Party). It was submitted to the full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 12th, just one day later, and referred to the bill subcommittee. According to the special prosecutor law, the special prosecutor will investigate allegations that Myeong and then-presidential candidate Yoon Suk-yeol, as well as First Lady Kim Geon-hee, were involved in illegal and false opinion polls used during the 20th presidential election and primary process. The investigation targets suspicions that Myeong provided opinion polls free of charge and, in return, there were exchanges of interests and privileges such as interference in candidate nominations.
The originally scheduled date for handling the special prosecutor law, December 20, has been postponed by a week to the 27th.
The urgent inquiry related to the 'Myeong Taegyun Gate' scheduled for the 19th was canceled. This followed Myeong Taegyun, the key witness, notifying his absence due to health reasons and subsequently refusing the Legislation and Judiciary Committee's request to participate via video conference.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
