▲ Lawmakers of the People Power Party walk out in protest of the proceedings during a plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly on November 4.
The so-called "Fabricated Prosecution Special Counsel Bill," which aims to investigate allegations of fabricated indictments by prosecutors under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, was passed today (November 4) by the First Bill Review Subcommittee of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, spearheaded by the Democratic Party of Korea.
The subcommittee held a meeting today and approved the "Bill on the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor to Uncover the Truth Behind Allegations of Fabricated Investigations and Fabricated Indictments by the Prosecution Service, National Intelligence Service, Board of Audit and Inspection, and Other Agencies under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration."
The People Power Party walked out during the subcommittee meeting in protest against the passage of the bill.
The Democratic Party plans to pass the special counsel bill at a full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held immediately afterward, and to process it at a plenary session tomorrow (November 5).
The bill calls for an investigation into allegations that prosecutors and other authorities engaged in fabricated investigations and indictments through targeted probes against the then-opposition party and political rivals after the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.
The scope of the special counsel's investigation includes prosecutors' investigations and indictments regarding allegations of breach of trust related to the Daejang-dong, Wirye New Town, and Baekhyeon-dong development projects; violations of the Public Official Election Act regarding the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong developments; subornation of perjury involving Kim Jin-sung; Ssangbangwool's remittances to North Korea; bribery involving Seongnam FC donations; former Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung's corporate card use; and false reporting allegedly aimed at defaming former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
Also included in the investigation are allegations of statistics manipulation under the Moon Jae-in administration, the fatal shooting of a South Korean fisheries official in the West Sea, the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen, bribery regarding the employment of former President Moon Jae-in's son-in-law, leaks of confidential information regarding the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, and the manipulation of the economic feasibility assessment of the Wolseong-1 nuclear reactor.
The subcommittee removed a clause from the bill originally proposed by the Democratic Party that was interpreted as granting the special counsel the authority to drop indictments, and adjusted the scope of the investigation.
While the introduced bill contained a provision allowing the special prosecutor to take over cases from prosecutors and decide whether to maintain indictments, this was eliminated during the subcommittee's review.
Existing language under the section detailing the special prosecutor's duties and authority that allowed the special prosecutor to decide whether to maintain indictments was also deleted.
Representative Kim Eui-kyeom, the ruling party secretary of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, told reporters after the subcommittee meeting, "Content related to dropping indictments was completely removed."
Representative Park Hyoung-soo, secretary for the People Power Party, met with reporters and criticized the bill, saying, "It is a special favor for cases involving President Lee Jae-myung," adding, "Not a single issue we raised was reflected."
(Photo: Yonhap News)
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