Empty seats are seen in the National Assembly's main chamber on Friday as lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party boycotted a vote on a bill to investigate alleged fabricated indictments. Electronic displays show the bill passing with 167 votes in favor. (Yonhap)
Empty seats are seen in the National Assembly's main chamber on Friday as lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party boycotted a vote on a bill to investigate alleged fabricated indictments. Electronic displays show the bill passing with 167 votes in favor. (Yonhap)

A contested bill passed Friday that will allow investigations into alleged politically motivated actions by prosecutors under former President Yoon Suk Yeol against President Lee Jae Myung, former President Moon Jae-in and other figures.

The bill, pushed by the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, passed with 167 votes in favor and one against. Of the 300 members of the National Assembly, 168 lawmakers were present, as the main opposition People Power Party boycotted the vote.

The investigation will cover 12 cases, including six involving Lee, whose criminal trials have been suspended since he took office in June 2025.

Among them are corruption allegations dating back to Lee's time as mayor of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.

Prosecutors indicted Lee in March 2023, accusing him of allowing private developers to make illegal profits and securing corporate donations in exchange for favors.

Another case concerns allegations that Lee arranged for Ssangbangwool Group, a South Korean company, to send $8 million to North Korea between 2019 and 2020 to support provincial projects and help arrange his visit to Pyongyang. Prosecutors indicted him over the alleged payments in June 2024.

Under the bill, the special counsel will investigate whether prosecutors manipulated evidence or witness testimony to bring the charges, rather than revisit the underlying criminal allegations.

The investigation will also cover Moon, who was indicted in April 2025 over allegations that his former son-in-law's airline job amounted to a bribe.

Other cases involve the 2020 killing of a South Korean fisheries official by North Korean troops near the western maritime border, the forced return of two North Korean fishers in 2019 and a prosecution investigation into allegedly false media reports targeting Yoon.

Lawmakers passed the bill after voting to end a filibuster launched Thursday by the People Power Party in protest. The People Power Party holds 109 seats in the National Assembly.

The opposition argues that the investigation could help Lee avoid criminal accountability by providing grounds for prosecutors to drop charges against him.

The ruling party removed provisions that would have allowed the special counsel to decide on charges, but the opposition says the investigation could still undermine ongoing trials.

"This is not an investigation to uncover the truth, but legislation designed to give the president a free pass and halt ongoing trials," People Power Party chief spokesperson Rep. Park Choong-kwon said after the vote.

The People Power Party said it would continue opposing the legislation, accusing the ruling party of undermining judicial independence to protect Lee.

The Democratic Party, meanwhile, maintains that the investigation is necessary to uncover possible abuses of power by prosecutors during Yoon's presidency.

The special counsel can employ up to 309 personnel and investigate for up to 200 days, including a 20-day preparation period.

The Democratic Party, People Power Party and minor Rebuilding Korea Party will each recommend a candidate to lead the investigation, with Lee making the final selection.


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