The Democratic Party of Korea's efforts to open a special counsel investigation of President Yoon Suk Yeol’s martial law declaration are likely to be unsuccessful.
It is up to Choi Sang-mok, acting president and the deputy prime minister, to decide whether to accept the Democratic Party-led special counsel investigation bill that passed the Assembly last week or veto it.
But as the bill was not passed on a bipartisan basis, Choi is likely to send it back to the Assembly.
The Democratic Party on Monday upped the pressure on Choi to appoint a special counsel “without hesitation.”
“The acting president will appoint a special counsel immediately if he wants to prove he is willing to put an end to the lawlessness and defend the Constitution,” Rep. Park Chan-dae, the Democratic Party floor leader, said.
The ruling People Power Party has urged Choi to veto the bill, as it was passed unilaterally by the Democratic Party, which controls the National Assembly’s majority.
Before passing the bill Friday, the Democratic Party made revisions in line with the People Power Party's demands to remove accusations that Yoon attempted to trigger a military provocation from North Korea by sending drones into Pyongyang and playing anti-Kim Jong-un broadcasts near the border.
The Democratic Party stands by the accusations that Yoon intentionally sought an armed conflict with North Korea despite removing them from the bill; the People Power Party considers the accusations groundless.
The ruling party protested the revised bill, however, over the provision inserted by the Democratic Party allowing the special counsel to open additional investigations into “related cases” and not just Yoon’s declaration of martial law. The party argues that the provision is vague enough to investigate accusations not listed in the bill, including those that were removed due to a lack of credible evidence.
The majority of People Power Party lawmakers have agreed to the special counsel investigation, just not on the Democratic Party’s terms.
Four-time Rep. Ahn Cheol-soo, who has voiced support for the bill from the beginning, told a press conference Monday he wanted to let the South Korean public know the People Power Party “has nothing to do with the president’s martial law imposition.”
As Yoon is about to be indicted in an ongoing investigation by prosecutors, the Democratic Party’s repeated bid to launch a special counsel investigation has also prompted questions about whether another investigation is necessary.
“The president has been detained, as has the defense minister, as has the army chief of staff, as has the national police chief. All of the important figures have already been detained,” Rep. Kweon Seong-dong, the People Power Party floor leader, said Monday.
“We are running out of people to investigate and arrest. What is there left for the special counsel to look into?” he said.
