The People Power Party on Monday stepped up attacks on the ruling bloc's plan to investigate prosecutors' alleged abuses of power against President Lee Jae Myung, calling it an "insane" attempt to allow Lee to "escape from prison."
The National Assembly, where the ruling Democratic Party of Korea has a majority, on Friday passed a bill to launch a 200-day special counsel investigation into criminal indictments against Lee and former liberal President Moon Jae-in. The bill now awaits the president's signature.
People Power Party chair Rep. Jang Dong-hyeok called the bill an "insane project" by the liberal bloc to keep Lee from prison, adding the president's approval of the special counsel plan would amount to an "abuse of his power for his own sake."
"In the end, Lee holds the key to getting himself out of prison," Jang said during a party supreme council meeting convened in front of Cheong Wa Dae in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
The leadership meeting was followed by one-person protests by People Power Party lawmakers who took turns protesting throughout the day.
Rep. Jeong Jeom-sig, the People Power Party floor leader, protested the use of 38 billion won ($28 million) of taxpayers' money for the special counsel investigation, saying: "Why should ordinary people bear the cost to see whether indictments against liberal presidents were just or unjust?"
He also said his party would consider filing a constitutional appeal regarding the bill. Jeong said the bill has unconstitutional elements, as it unfairly handles the legal cases of powerful figures, and as Lee has the power to appoint the counsel that investigates his cases.
The special counsel bill passed Friday aims to investigate any possible abuses of power by the prosecution, spy agency and state audit agency.
The bill views criminal cases involving Lee and Moon as ones influenced by former President Yoon Suk Yeol.
The liberal bloc believes all cases brought against Lee and Moon were the result of the investigating authorities' persecution through a fabrication of evidence.
The opposition has argued that the ruling party's claims are groundless, given that the Justice Ministry's previous attempt to investigate authorities bore no fruit. The proposed special counsel bill also does not clearly state what abuses of power were committed by the authorities.
An independent committee to probe prosecutors' alleged abuses of power was run under former Rep. Jung Sung-ho, a Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker who formerly served as the justice minister in the Lee administration.
Lee faces five criminal trials, including one for his alleged involvement in a land corruption scandal in southern Gyeonggi Province. All of his court proceedings were suspended shortly after he took office in June 2025.
Earlier versions of the proposed bill had been criticized for a clause that would have allowed the special counsel to cancel all of Lee's indictments if they were found to have been politically motivated. That clause was removed from the bill that was passed Friday.
Meanwhile, People Power Party lawmakers have since said they would boycott the Legislation and Judiciary Committee at the National Assembly and vowed not to take part in its budget review process.
The boycott's impact will be limited, as the committee is chaired by lawmakers of the ruling Democratic Party, which also holds a majority in the committee.
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