The ruling Democratic Party of Korea is stepping up its push for a new special counsel probe into prosecutors' alleged power abuse concerning cases of President Lee Jae Myung and former President Moon Jae-in.
The ruling party submitted the bill for a vote Thursday despite conservative opposition and will likely push the bill through with its majority in parliament on Friday.
The liberal ruling party has claimed the bill seeks to rectify politically motivated prosecutions against Lee and Moon. The opposition People Power Party, however, says the move is an abuse of power to influence the judiciary and unfairly exonerate the politicians.
Rep. Seo Young-kyo, a Democratic Party lawmaker who chairs the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said during Thursday's plenary session that the former Yoon Suk Yeol administration had abused its powers to manipulate evidence and launch unfair investigations into his political rivals, including Lee and Moon.
The People Power Party launched a filibuster against the bill, shortly after the ruling party submitted it to the plenary session for a vote.
"Today, democracy in South Korea died. The rule of law died," Rep. Park Hyeung-soo of the People Power Party said in his filibuster speech. He went on to criticize the bill for granting privileges to the president that allowed him to bypass the entire judicial process — unlike any other citizens who have been criminally indicted.
Park added the bill raises concerns about conflict of interest, as it would give Lee the authority to appoint the special counsel investigating those who filed criminal charges against him.
The bill stipulates that the special counsel will lead an investigative team of over 300 staff for up to 200 days to look into allegations of fabricating evidence, influenced by former President Yoon Suk Yeol to persecute liberal politicians. Their investigation will target officials of the now-defunct prosecution, the National Intelligence Service and the Board of Audit and Inspection.
The special counsel will also have the power to both investigate and indict.
People Power Party floor leader Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig said the liberal bloc "finally crossed a line that should have never been crossed" by "fabricating historical records of (the liberal leaders') past wrongdoings."
Jeong said his party was planning protests outside parliament if the liberal parties vote to end his party's filibuster and pass the bill Friday. A series of one-person protests by People Power Party lawmakers will take place daily starting Friday near the National Assembly and Cheong Wa Dae.
This follows monthslong pause in the Democratic Party's legislative proceedings after fierce opposition to clauses in the bill that could have allowed the special counsel to cancel Lee's criminal indictments.
To table the bill at Thursday's plenary session, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee removed the clauses, as Lee openly requested that the clause be removed in September.
All of Lee's trials, including breach of trust involving a massive land development scandal, were suspended shortly after the inauguration.
Meanwhile, the special counsel investigation widened to more cases involving Moon, including a bribery case involving his son-in-law.
The Democratic Party announced Tuesday that all of its 161 party lawmakers will vote in favor of the special counsel bill.
The Democratic Party has the power to pass bills through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and the plenary session of the National Assembly without the consent of the opposition.
The parliament-sponsored special counsel will be the seventh of its kind since Lee's inauguration. They have mainly targeted criminal allegations involving Yoon and his wife Kim Keon Hee.
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