The conservative opposition Bareun Party on Thursday joined left-wing opposition groups’ push to extend the period for the ongoing special investigation into the scandal involving President Park Geun-hye, currently set to end Feb. 28.  

“The Bareun Party requests acting President and Prime Minister Hwang Kyo-ahn approve extending the period for Park’s special probe,” Rep. Jang Je-won said after their party meeting. “If Hwang refuses, the Bareun Party will join the opposition parties to pass a legislative motion for the probe extension.”
Earlier this week, the investigative team led by Independent Counsel Park Young-soo expressed the need for more time to look into the massive corruption and influence-peddling scandal. It has not yet made a formal request.

On Wednesday, three liberal opposition parties, including the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea, agreed to revise the special counsel law to change the stipulated investigation time to 120 days.

Under the current law, the investigation period is limited to 90 days, which includes 20 days of preparation time. The law allows for a one-time expansion of 30 days with approval from the president. As President Park has been relieved of her presidential duties due to her impeachment, acting President Hwang holds the power to approve the expansion. 

The acting president is widely seen as a Park loyalist and thus unlikely to allow the investigation to continue past the initial deadline.

If he disapproves, the special probe would expire by the end of this month and would be passed to the prosecution.

With the conservative splinter Bareun Party’s 32 lawmakers added to their revision drive, the motion is likely to pass, as the negotiation bodies hold a majority 203 seats at the 300-seat National Assembly. 
 
By Jo He-rim (herim@heraldcorp.com)