[Anchor]

A bill to amend the Special Counsel Act, which extends the investigation period for the second comprehensive special counsel, has passed the plenary session of the National Assembly under the leadership of the Democratic Party. The People Power Party, which attempted to block the bill through an all-night filibuster, did not participate in the vote.

Reported by Park Chan-beom.

[Reporter]

The amendment to the 'Second Comprehensive Special Counsel Act' was brought to the plenary session of the National Assembly yesterday (July 20) afternoon, led by the Democratic Party.

The People Power Party protested, claiming that for over 400 days since the launch of the Lee Jae-myung administration, the focus has been solely on 'special counsel investigations aimed at suppressing the opposition party.' They initiated an unlimited debate, or filibuster, to oppose the passage of the bill. However, lawmakers from the pan-ruling bloc, including the Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party, forced an end to the filibuster through a vote this afternoon, 24 hours after the debate began.

The bill passed the plenary session with the unanimous consent of the 173 members present.

[Cho Jung-sik/National Assembly Speaker: I declare that the bill has been passed.]

Lawmakers from the People Power Party and the New Reform Party did not participate in the vote.

With the passage of the amendment, the investigation deadline for the second comprehensive special counsel is expected to be extended by 30 days to August 23.

The number of dispatched officials for the special counsel will also be increased by 20, bringing the total to 150.

The People Power Party criticized the move, stating that extending the investigation deadline for the second comprehensive special counsel again is merely a form of political retaliation that wastes the nation's investigative capabilities, and warned that the Democratic Party would pay the price.

[Jung Chung-rae/People Power Party Floor Leader: The price for politics trampling on the rule of law will inevitably return to the Democratic Party.]

The Democratic Party argued that the People Power Party is bringing the National Assembly to a standstill without any justification, and announced plans to amend the National Assembly Act.

[Han Byung-do/Democratic Party Floor Leader: We will not allow the time for public livelihood and reform to be wasted any longer by absurd filibusters.]

The Democratic Party announced it would strengthen the requirements for filibusters, such as allowing the National Assembly Speaker to suspend debates if the number of members present falls below one-fifth of the total registered members during an unlimited debate.

(Video coverage: Lee Seung-hwan, Shin Dong-hwan | Video editing: Yoo Mi-ra)