Impeachment of acting president not off table: Democratic Party

Acting President Choi Sang-mok presides over a meeting at Government Complex Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)
Acting President Choi Sang-mok presides over a meeting at Government Complex Seoul on Friday. (Yonhap)

Acting President Choi Sang-mok on Friday vetoed a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration on Dec. 3 last year, citing a lack of bipartisan agreement.

This is the second time he has exercised veto power on a bill regarding a special counsel probe. It was a revised version of a bill that was rejected and discarded after Choi vetoed it on Dec. 31.

On Friday, Choi told the Cabinet during a meeting held at the Government Complex Seoul that although some unconstitutional elements in the previous version of the bill had been addressed, he was still concerned that the law was passed by the National Assembly without bipartisan agreement.

“I regret that, like the previous bill, this one passed the National Assembly without the consent of both parties,” Choi said.

"I urge the National Assembly to discuss this issue in a larger, more strategic manner."

Choi further argued that since Yoon is already under arrest and facing trial, a special probe is no longer necessary.

"The investigations related to martial law have moved ahead, with key military and police figures, including the incumbent president, already arrested and facing trial. At this point, it is difficult to justify the necessity of a special prosecutor," he explained.

The bill, authored by opposition lawmakers, passed the Democratic Party-controlled National Assembly for the second time on Jan. 18 amid protests from the ruling People Power Party. The People Power Party had initially opposed the bill over its accusation that Yoon deliberately sought to provoke a war with North Korea by flying drones into Pyongyang without any concrete evidence.

Although the Democratic Party agreed to remove the accusations of warmongering, they added a provision allowing the special counsel to "open additional investigations into related suspicions," which the People Power Party argued is vague enough to touch on any of the claims raised by the Democratic Party.

The People Power Party said the scope of the special counsel investigation, if launched, should be limited to Yoon's martial law declaration.

As Yoon is already indicted in an ongoing investigation by prosecutors, the People Power Party said another investigation by a special counsel into the same case would amount to an unnecessary spending of taxpayer money.

Meanwhile, the Democratic Party of Korea leadership warned earlier in the morning that Choi could face impeachment if he vetoes a bill again.

Rep. Jeon Hyun-heui, who is a member of the Democratic Party's supreme council, said during a radio interview that Choi would be "adding more points to the tally for his impeachment" if he rejects the opposition-led bill. She suggested that impeaching the interim president is not off the table.

Democratic Party Floor Leader Rep. Park Chan-dae said during a party leadership meeting held the same day that "(Choi) is not an elected president but merely filling in" and that he lacks the authority to veto the special counsel bill, which had already passed the National Assembly.

Despite earlier threats to impeach Choi if he exercised veto powers, however, the Democratic Party refrained from mentioning impeachment Friday morning.

A recent poll out this week showed the Democratic Party trailing the rival People Power Party by up to 8 percentage points -- a surprising reversal in public opinion following Yoon’s Dec. 3 martial law attempt.