The Democratic Party is accelerating the processing of the so-called 'special prosecutor bill' aimed at investigating allegations of fabricated investigations and prosecutions by the Yoon Suk Yeol administration's prosecution, intensifying the political standoff. The People Power Party has announced strong opposition, including a boycott of the plenary session and a potential filibuster.
On November 4, the Democratic Party held consecutive meetings of the National Assembly's Legislative and Judiciary Committee's subcommittee and the full committee, where the special prosecutor bill was passed despite opposition from the People Power Party. Following the adoption of the bill as a party line during a general meeting the previous day, the party plans to push for its processing in the plenary session on November 5.
The special prosecutor bill includes provisions to investigate allegations that the prosecution and other agencies conducted fabricated investigations and prosecutions against the opposition and political rivals since the Yoon Suk Yeol administration began. It covers various issues, including the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong development scandals, the remittance to North Korea by Ssangbangwool, sponsorship funds for Seongnam FC, and allegations of corporate card misuse, as well as the manipulation of statistics during the Moon Jae-in administration, the shooting of a public official in the West Sea, and the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen.
The controversial provision regarding the special prosecutor's 'right to dismiss charges' has been removed from the final draft. The Democratic Party refuted claims by the People Power Party that the bill was intended to facilitate the dismissal of charges against President Lee Jae-myung, stating that it had deleted not only the provisions related to dismissing charges but also any clauses that could have similar effects.
Han Byung-do, the Democratic Party's floor leader, stated, "This special prosecutor bill has removed all provisions related to the dismissal of charges from previous bills, as well as any clauses that could produce similar effects," adding, "The People Power Party is distorting the entire bill."
The People Power Party has declared that it will respond strongly if the bill is presented in the plenary session. Floor leader Jeong Geum-sik said, "If the special prosecutor bill is included in tomorrow's plenary agenda, we will have no choice but to reject the plenary session itself."
The People Power Party is also considering a filibuster against the bill. Members of the People Power Party on the Legislative and Judiciary Committee held a rally to condemn the bill's passage and criticized the handling of the legislation.
People Power Party lawmaker Park Hyung-soo criticized the structure that allows the president to choose a special prosecutor who would judge the appropriateness of the prosecutor's decision to indict in their own case, while Chief Spokesperson Choi Eun-seok described it as an unconstitutional legislative act aimed at eliminating the president's trial.
As the Democratic Party considers pushing for a national investigation into Chief Justice Cho Hee-dae following the special prosecutor bill, conflicts over next year's budget are also ongoing, suggesting that political clashes between the ruling and opposition parties are likely to intensify early in the regular National Assembly session.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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