Acting President Choi Exercises Veto Power at Emergency Cabinet Meeting
"Violation of Constitutional Principles of Clarity and Proportionality"
Urges Prosecution: "Stake the Organization's Fate and Uncover the Truth"
Choi Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Strategy and Finance, exercised his right to request reconsideration (veto) on the 'Myeong Taegyun Special Prosecutor Act' passed by the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 14th, led by opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea. He stated that as Acting President, he could not help but reject it due to violations of the constitutional principles of separation of powers and due process. At the same time, he urged the prosecution to "stake their fate and clearly uncover the substantive truth."
In his opening remarks at the emergency Cabinet meeting held at the Government Seoul Office that morning, Acting President Choi said, "We thoroughly reviewed the legal issues and necessity of the Special Prosecutor Act with the Cabinet members," adding, "After repeated deliberations, we decided to exercise the right to request reconsideration."
Choe Sang-mok, Acting President and Deputy Prime Minister as well as Minister of Economy and Finance, is speaking at the Macroeconomic and Financial Issues Meeting held at the Government Seoul Office Building on the 14th. Photo by Yonhap News
Acting President Choi explained that the Myeong Taegyun Special Prosecutor Act allows unrestricted investigation of all primaries and elections held from 2021 to 2024, important policy decision-related cases, as well as all related cases recognized during the investigation process, stating, "The scope and subjects of the investigation are so unclear and extensive that there are concerns about violating the constitutional principles of clarity and proportionality."
He also pointed out that the provision suspending the statute of limitations during the special prosecutor's investigation period and including the 'authority to maintain prosecution in ongoing trials' within the special prosecutor's duties are unprecedented, stating, "There is a concern that this violates the basic intent of the statute of limitations system, which strictly applies reasons for suspension, and the constitutional principle of due process." Regarding the exclusion of the prosecution's authority to maintain prosecution in already indicted cases, he said, "This goes against the purpose of the special prosecutor to rectify investigative deficiencies."
In particular, Acting President Choi said the Myeong Taegyun Special Prosecutor Act "substantially infringes on the President's appointment rights, raising the possibility of violating the constitutional principle of separation of powers." Since the prosecution is already conducting investigations and has indicted suspects related to Myeong Taegyun's allegations, he explained that there is no need to introduce the special prosecutor system, which is a significant exception to the separation of powers principle.
Acting President Choi said, "According to the interim investigation results announced on February 17, the prosecution conducted searches and seizures at a total of 61 locations and investigated over 100 current and former lawmakers, and through forensic work on the so-called 'golden phone,' they have completed the selection process for many files," adding, "Given that the prosecution's investigation is accelerating, introducing a special prosecutor does not align with the system's intent."
He then urged the prosecution, saying, "They must seriously accept the considerable public concerns regarding the investigation related to Myeong Taegyun," and demanded, "Stake the prosecution's fate on this investigation and swiftly and fairly investigate all related suspicions without any sanctuary to clearly uncover the substantive truth."
The Myeong Taegyun Special Prosecutor Act contains provisions to investigate allegations of manipulation of public opinion polls and nomination deals in various elections based on Myeong's personal connections with President Yoon Seok-yeol and his spouse. The People Power Party requested the exercise of veto power on this bill, claiming it is an attempt to "devastate the entire conservative camp aiming for an early presidential election." The Democratic Party pressured Acting President Choi to accept the Special Prosecutor Act, even mentioning impeachment. However, since all eight impeachment motions, including one against Choi Jae-ha, head of the Board of Audit and Inspection, have been dismissed, it is analyzed that pushing for impeachment against Acting President Choi will not be easy.
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