Democratic Party Pushes to Pass 'Distorted Indictment' Special Counsel Bill as Early as Nov. 5, Set for Committee Tabling Tomorrow

The Democratic Party of Korea has announced plans to soon pass the so-called "Distorted Indictment Special Counsel Bill," which aims to investigate allegations of fabricated and distorted indictments by the prosecution under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

After a floor strategy meeting at the National Assembly today (November 3), floor spokesperson Lee Joo-hee addressed the possibility of the bill being processed during the plenary session on November 5, stating, "In terms of possibility, I can only say it is certainly possible."

However, Lee explained, "Because we need time to build consensus at the general meeting of lawmakers, I am cautious about saying it will be tabled immediately (on November 5)."

The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee will hold a plenary meeting tomorrow (November 4) to table the "Bill on the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor to Uncover the Truth Behind Allegations of Distorted Investigations and Distorted Indictments by the Prosecution Service, National Intelligence Service, Board of Audit and Inspection, and Other Agencies Under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration," which was introduced by the Democratic Party last April.

The bill specifies 12 cases as targets for investigation, including corruption allegations surrounding the Daejang-dong and Wirye new town development projects, bribery allegations involving Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Institute for Democracy, Ssangbangwool's unauthorized remittances to North Korea, and the manipulation of national statistics.

Following criticism from the opposition that granting the special prosecutor the "authority to withdraw indictments" was intended to drop charges against President Lee Jae-myung, the Democratic Party is pushing forward with the bill after excluding the controversial withdrawal-of-indictment clause.

Asked whether a separate bill excluding the authority to withdraw indictments would be introduced to be reviewed jointly with the existing bill, floor spokesperson Lee said, "It is likely to be settled in the direction of amending the existing bill."

Representative Park Hyeong-soo, the People Power Party's ranking member on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, criticized the move during a parliamentary audit reporting meeting held at the National Assembly today, saying, "The Democratic Party has finally revealed its devil's claws to dismiss charges against President Lee," adding, "Legislation and Judiciary Committee Chair Seo Young-kyo unilaterally notified us yesterday evening that the special counsel bill would be tabled."

In response, Committee Chair Seo Young-kyo countered that since the parliamentary audit has ended, legislative and budget reviews are a natural course of business, stating that the meeting schedule was announced to lawmakers' offices only after consultations were held between the ranking members, Rep. Kim Eui-kyeom and Rep. Park Hyeong-soo.

(Photo: Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.