Special Counsel Bill Introduced in South Korean Parliament Against Alleged False Charges

A significant bill was introduced in the plenary session of South Korea's National Assembly on Thursday. The bill seeks the appointment of a special counsel to investigate alleged fabrications in charges brought against President Lee Jae-myung and other individuals. According to a report by Yonhap, the bill was introduced by Assembly Speaker Cho Jong-sik.

The bill was introduced despite opposition from the main opposition party, the 'People Power Party' (PPP). Currently, the ruling 'Democratic Party' (DP) holds a majority in Parliament, which has cleared the path for voting on the bill. The PPP has immediately initiated a filibuster (a process of delaying a vote through prolonged discussion) in opposition to the bill. However, the Democratic Party has stated that they will end this process after 24 hours in accordance with the rules and will conduct the vote on the bill on Friday.

First introduced by the Democratic Party in April, the primary objective of this bill is to investigate whether evidence was fabricated or false testimonies were obtained by the prosecution during the tenure of former President Yoon Suk Yeol to build cases against opposition leader Lee and others. According to the final version of the bill, the special prosecutor will be tasked with investigating charges made in a total of 12 cases.

Out of these 12 cases, 6 are linked to President Lee Jae-myung. These allegations pertain to his tenure as the Mayor of Seongnam or the Governor of Gyeonggi Province, including accusations of corrupt development projects, illegally sending funds to North Korea, and misuse of government charge cards. However, after being elected as President last June, all his trials were suspended under Article 84 of the Constitution, as this article exempts a sitting president from criminal cases except for rebellion or treason.

The remaining 6 cases primarily relate to events during the administration of former Democratic Party President Moon Jae-in. The PPP has strongly opposed the bill, arguing that it is a pretext to have all charges against Lee Jae-myung dropped. PPP floor leader Jong Jem-sik stated at a party meeting, "The special counsel bill to drop charges is the worst unconstitutional rebellion against Parliament in constitutional history." He further added that this investigation is an attempt to pressure the judiciary to ensure verdicts of innocence in pre-determined cases.

The Democratic Party initially attempted to include a clause in the bill that would allow the special prosecutor to drop charges, but due to opposition from within and outside the party, that clause was removed from the final version. Nevertheless, the PPP believes that the findings of this investigation could be used by the Ministry of Justice or the prosecution to drop the cases.

If this bill is passed, it will be the seventh time an independent counsel is appointed during President Lee's tenure. Previous investigations covered issues such as Yoon Suk Yeol's failed attempt to impose martial law, alleged corruption by his wife, and an unprecedented shortage of ballot papers during the local elections in June.

The new special prosecutor will be selected by President Lee. He will choose one candidate from three nominees recommended by the Democratic Party, the PPP, and the Minor Rebuilding Korea Party. This team will consist of a maximum of 309 employees and will operate for a maximum of 200 days.