Opposition leader declares hunger strike amid clash over special counsel bills

Partisan conflict is once again intensifying in South Korea, with the main opposition chair declaring a hunger strike as parties butt heads over special counsel bills.

The National Assembly on Thursday tabled a bill proposed by lawmakers from the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, calling for a new special counsel investigation into former President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife, Kim Keon Hee. The move follows a previous 180-day parliament-sponsored probe into related allegations.

The decision prompted fierce backlash from the main opposition People Power Party.

People Power Party Chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok announced that he would begin a hunger strike inside the National Assembly's main building on Thursday, protesting what he called the ruling party’s selective pursuit of special counsel legislation.

Jang argued that the Democratic Party's push was politically motivated — to damage rival parties ahead of this year's local elections. He accused the ruling bloc of "turning a blind eye to demands for special counsel investigations" into issues that could harm the liberal camp, including corruption scandals involving liberal lawmakers and cross-party allegations of illegal donations from religious sects such as the Unification Church.

Although a filibuster was launched against the bill, it would only delay the vote by 24 hours, as the liberal bloc holds enough seats to vote to end the filibuster.

Rep. Chun Ha-ram of the minor conservative Reform Party echoed Jang’s concerns. In a filibuster speech, Chun stated that a special counsel probe is meant to check power, not to “carry out a posthumous punishment.”

"A special counsel should not be used to punish a dead regime. It is meant to remove the rotten parts of the power now in place," Chun said.

Rep. Moon Geum-ju, floor spokesperson for the Democratic Party, denied that the ruling party had rejected opposition calls for special counsel investigations into other matters. He stated that a police investigation should precede any special counsel probe.

The bill to reintroduce a special counsel, in addition to ongoing police probes into Yoon and Kim, was proposed on Dec. 22 by Rep. Lee Sung-yoon of the Democratic Party of Korea and 38 fellow party lawmakers.

Citing the six-month time constraints of the previous investigations by three special counsels, the bill indicated that the remaining allegations against the Yoon couple must be completely resolved through a follow-up investigation.

The bill indicates that a special counsel will be authorized to lead a team of some 250 staff for up to 170 days.

The three special counsel teams operated from July to December, during which time they investigated Yoon's alleged insurrection through a self-coup, Yoon's alleged interference in an internal probe, and Kim's corruption scandal, respectively.

Their operations led to the indictment and detention of Yoon and Kim, based on court-approved arrest warrants.

Yoon was indicted for leading an insurrection, resisting the execution of a warrant against him, abusing his power as the former president, and collaborating with the enemy, among others. On Tuesday, the special counsel asked the court to sentence Yoon to death in a ruling expected next month.

His wife was brought to court for allegedly receiving luxury goods in violation of the anti-graft law, meddling in the People Power Party's election procedures, manipulating stock prices, and other charges.

The special counsel also concluded there was no evidence that Kim had played a role in instigating Yoon's declaration of martial law in December 2024. However, it did not draw any conclusions regarding the allegation that Kim used her power to enable a specific company to win a contract to renovate a building in Yongsan-gu into a presidential residence.

Liberal politicians claimed that the investigations into the former presidential couple must continue.

The special counsel's request for the Seoul Central District Court to sentence Yoon to death "is just the beginning," said Rep. Han Byung-do, floor leader of the Democratic Party, adding that there is much more work to do to "normalize South Korea."

"The truth of (Yoon's) insurrection and (his wife Kim Keon Hee's) interference in state affairs has not been revealed completely."