Ruling party moves to force-end filibuster, bring bill to floor vote
Kim Min-seok vows to 'correct old-era abuse of power'
Jeong Jeom-sik warns bill will face judgment of people and courts
A bill to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration fabricated investigations and indictments is expected to pass the National Assembly on Friday afternoon, led by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea.
The Democratic Party plans to invoke National Assembly procedures to force-end a filibuster that the People Power Party began Thursday, then bring the bill to a floor vote around 4 p.m. Friday.
The bill aims to determine whether state agencies under the Yoon administration — including prosecutors, the National Intelligence Service and the Board of Audit and Inspection — conducted fabricated investigations and indictments targeting the Democratic Party, then in opposition, and other political opponents.
The scope of the investigation includes prosecutors' handling of cases involving President Lee Jae Myung: alleged breach of trust in the Daejang-dong, Wirye new town and Baekhyeon-dong development projects; alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act in connection with the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong developments; alleged subornation of perjury by a person named Kim Jin-seong; the SBW funds-to-North-Korea transfer case; and a bribery case tied to sponsorship of Seongnam FC.
Also covered are alleged statistical manipulation during the Moon Jae-in administration, the fatal shooting of a South Korean civil servant in the West Sea, the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors, and the alleged leak of classified information related to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. The investigation team may include up to 309 personnel — among them seconded prosecutors, investigators and special investigators — and may run for up to 200 days. A provision granting the special prosecutor authority to withdraw charges, which appeared in the original bill, was removed from the revised version.
Democratic Party leader Kim Min-seok said at a supreme council meeting Friday that the party would "push the fabricated indictment special prosecutor bill through without a hitch, expose every instance of coerced investigation and fabricated indictment, hold those responsible strictly accountable, correct old-era abuses of power, and establish judicial justice."
The People Power Party has strongly opposed the bill through its filibuster, calling it "a law to save Lee Jae Myung" designed to quash the president's ongoing trials.
PPP floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik sharpened his criticism at a floor strategy meeting, calling the bill "a fabricated special prosecutor that this administration is pushing — one that is inherently guilty of three forms of fabrication: fabricating truth, language and history." He added that the ruling party "will ultimately be unable to escape judgment by the people and the courts."
bigroot@heraldcorp.com
