[Anchor]

A special counsel bill investigating allegations of fabricated indictments by the prosecution during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration is poised to pass the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. In addition to the cases involving President Lee Jae-myung that were initially known, personal cases involving former President Moon Jae-in have also been included in the scope of the investigation.

Reporter Han Sung-hee reports.

[Reporter]

The Legislation and Judiciary Committee, where the "special counsel bill on allegations of fabricated indictments" was introduced, was repeatedly disrupted from the start.

Although a provision interpreted as granting the special counsel the authority to drop indictments was removed, lawmakers from the People Power Party argued that the very fact that the president appoints the special counsel constitutes a conflict of interest.

[Park Hyung-soo / People Power Party Lawmaker: "Did everyone gather here today to pass bills that flatter and side with the president?"]

[Seo Young-kyo / Chair of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee (Democratic Party): "I want to say that repeatedly calling it a 'bill to drop indictments' is in itself spreading false information."]

Amid strong backlash from the People Power Party, the special counsel bill is expected to pass the committee soon under the leadership of the Democratic Party.

Cases that were not originally part of the investigation scope have been added, including bribery allegations surrounding the hiring of former President Moon Jae-in's former son-in-law, allegations of manipulated economic feasibility for the Wolseong-1 nuclear reactor, the alleged leak of classified THAAD information, and the repatriation of North Korean fishermen in the East Sea.

[Kim Eui-kyeom / Democratic Party Lawmaker: "There was some criticism asking if the investigation targeted only a specific individual, so we included fabricated indictments, distorted investigations, targeted probes, and excessive fishing-expedition investigations overall."]

This emphasized that the bill is not just for President Lee, as the People Power Party criticizes, but the People Power Party countered that it is an attempt to brush away legal risks hanging over both former and incumbent Democratic Party presidents.

[Kim Tae-gyu / People Power Party Lawmaker: "It is like taking a good bath, trying to wipe everything clean in one go."]

The People Power Party announced it will counter with unlimited debate, or a filibuster, not only against the special counsel bill but against all agenda items headed to the plenary session.

However, as the Democratic Party can pass it unilaterally, the seventh special counsel probe under the Lee Jae-myung administration is virtually poised for launch.

(Video by Oh Young-chun and Kim Yong-woo | Video Editing by Won Hyung-hee)