Park Chan-dae (center), floor leader of the Democratic Party, speaks during a meeting on the ongoing national audit at the National Assembly in Seoul on Thursday. (Yonhap)
The main opposition Democratic Party plans to push for the passage of a bill calling for a special counsel probe into allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee at a parliamentary plenary session next month, an official said Thursday.
The DP has previously voted for two similar bills, only to see them scrapped in revotes conducted following President Yoon Suk Yeol's vetoes.
A DP official told Yonhap News Agency that a new bill is likely to be reviewed in the legislation and judiciary parliamentary committee early next month and put up for a vote at the plenary session set for Nov. 14.
The latest bill expands the scope of the proposed special counsel investigation to include recent allegations that the first lady sought the help of Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed political broker, to conduct public opinion surveys favoring her husband ahead of the 2022 presidential election.
Other added items for the proposed investigation include allegations that the first lady interfered in candidate nominations for last April's general elections as well as the 2022 local elections and by-elections.
The scope was also expanded to include suspicions that the first lady and her aides were involved in leaking state secrets from the presidential office and assigning civilians with no formal position to carry out state affairs.
As with the scrapped bills, the new bill also calls for an investigation into the first lady's alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and her acceptance of a luxury bag. (Yonhap)
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