The ball is in President Yoon Suk Yeol's court after the passage of a special bill to give the National Assembly the power to launch a new probe into the Itaewon crowd crush incident in October 2022 that killed 159 people.
Opposition lawmakers called for a renewed investigation so that a wider range of decision-makers would face consequences for the failure to put in place measures to deal with overcrowding as people flocked to the nightlife district for Halloween.
The presidential office, however, described the bill proposed by the opposition bloc as one "without a bipartisan compromise." It has yet to confirm its stance on whether it will veto it.
On Tuesday, Yoon's spokesperson Kim Soo-kyung expressed regret over the bill's passage without proper consultation with the ruling bloc, immediately after the National Assembly passed the bill to create an 11-member special investigation committee that would operate for 15 months beginning in mid-April -- after the legislative election this year.
Yoon's office pledged to discuss the matter with the ruling People Power Party but has not made any further comments. The conservative party also opposed the bill's passage, but has not asked Yoon to strike down the bill. Interim party leader Han Dong-hoon said Wednesday the party "does not oppose to the special bill itself, but sought a way to compensate for the losses of the victims without causing a political divide."
Voting in favor were 177 lawmakers mostly from the opposition bloc present at the plenary session. Rep. Kwon Eun-hee of the People Power Party was an exception, while the other ruling conservative party lawmakers walked out of the session.
In April, 183 lawmakers of four different opposition parties proposed the bill. As the bill made its way into the National Assembly's plenary session, the legislators' right to request a special counsel's investigation was excluded from the bill, following the arbitration of the National Assembly Speaker Rep. Kim Jin-pyo.
The National Assembly carried out a two-month probe into the matter ending in January 2023. It concluded by calling for the dismissal of Interior Minister Lee Sang-min.
The special police investigation in January 2023, however, found that Lee was not accountable for the disaster. Instead, dozens of police officers, firefighters and public servants, mostly at the district level, were sent to the prosecution. None of their court verdicts have been reached.
The opposition bloc also sought to impeach Interior Minister Lee, but the impeachment motion was rejected by the Constitutional Court in July.
With a new investigation bill passed, Yoon could again exercise his veto power.
Yoon has vetoed several bills that did not win bipartisan agreement. The opposition Democratic Party of Korea has a strong enough majority to pass a bill at a plenary session unilaterally.
Yoon in April 2023 exercised the first presidential veto in seven years, by shooting down a grain act revision aimed at mandating the government's purchase of excess rice yields to keep grain prices afloat for farmers' livelihood.
In May 2023, Yoon vetoed the Nursing Act, which would otherwise have defined the roles and responsibilities of nurses. The presidential office cited a potential conflict between physicians and nurses after legislation.
Yoon's exercise of veto power has become more frequent as the general election draws closer. In December, Yoon vetoed bills designed to ensure labor immunity in the event of damage inflicted on their employers by industrial action, as well as bills meant to undermine the power of the government and politicians to name directors on the boards of two terrestrial TV networks -- Munhwa Broadcasting Corp. and Korea Broadcasting System.
Most recently, Yoon vetoed earlier in January bills giving the opposition bloc the exclusive power to recommend special counsels to investigate first lady Kim Keon Hee's alleged stock manipulation, and into the conservatives' potential ties with the high-profile scandal associated with the lucrative Daejang-dong housing development projects in Gyeonggi Province.
Should the veto power be exercised by President Yoon, it would be seen as a hasty decision, said Shin Yul, professor of political science at Myongji University.
"(But) Yoon will not likely make such a decision hastily," he said.
"Given the room for negotiations between the parties, now is not the right time to bring up his veto rights over the matter," Shin also said, adding there is room for discussions between parties after the special bill becomes law, against the backdrop that the compensation to the victims has yet to be extended other than condolence money and support for funeral costs.
Another expert said the presidential veto would be inevitable to prevent political infighting over the matter.
"Yoon will have no choice but to exercise his veto power," said Choi Jin, political commentator and vice dean of Sehan University. "Once the bill becomes law, the debate over the Itaewon probe will become too political ... given it has been quite some time since the disaster took place."
