Photo : YONHAP News
The main opposition Democratic Party has put forth a bill that would revise parliamentary regulations and make it possible to investigate allegations against first lady Kim Keon-hee without cooperation from the ruling party.
The opposition party’s bill, proposed Tuesday, stipulates that no political party the president is affiliated with, or has been in the past, can recommend members to a committee tasked with picking a special counsel in a case where there are allegations against the president or a member of the president’s family.
Currently, the ruling People Power Party and the Democratic Party can each recommend two members when forming a special counsel committee.
The main opposition also submitted a bill seeking a permanent special counsel investigation to handle two separate cases involving the first lady, one related to alleged stock manipulation and the other dealing with alleged interference in a drug smuggling probe.
Democratic Party Rep. Kim Yong-min, the party’s deputy chief of policy, said his party intends to push concurrently for a permanent special counsel investigation regarding some allegations and separate investigations for others.
Enacted under a bipartisan agreement in 2014, the permanent special counsel system enables the National Assembly to launch an investigation without having to introduce new legislation, which means it would not be subject to a presidential veto.
The ruling party protested the move, with party floor leader Choo Kyung-ho accusing the opposition party of attempting to seize control over the power to investigate and indict, as well as over special counsel probes.