The 'Special Prosecutor Law on Internal Disturbance' and the 'Myung Taek-kyun Special Prosecutor Law,' led by opposition parties including the Democratic Party of Korea, were defeated in a re-vote at the National Assembly plenary session on the 17th, resulting in their automatic nullification.
In this re-vote, conducted anonymously according to National Assembly law, the Special Prosecutor Law on Internal Disturbance was defeated with 197 votes in favor and 102 against out of 299 total votes, while the Myung Taek-kyun Special Prosecutor Law was defeated with 197 votes in favor, 98 against, and 4 invalid votes out of 299. A re-vote bill must be approved by a majority of the members present, with at least two-thirds of those members in favor.
The Special Prosecutor Law on Internal Disturbance stipulates that the special prosecutor is to investigate all allegations related to the '12.3 state of emergency.'
Last year, the opposition party also led the bill to pass the plenary session, but on December 31, 2024, then Acting President Choi Sang-mok, who also served as the Minister of Economy and Finance, exercised the right to request reconsideration (veto). This was re-voted on January 8 but was automatically nullified due to defeat. Subsequently, the Democratic Party passed the second Special Prosecutor Law on Internal Disturbance, which removed the 'foreign exchange inducement incident' from the investigation targets, in the National Assembly on January 17, and then Acting President Choi exercised the veto again.
The Myung Taek-kyun Special Prosecutor Law targets the allegations of opinion poll manipulation and nomination intervention centered around Mr. Myung that arose during the last presidential and local elections. On the 14th of last month, then Acting President Choi exercised the veto regarding the Myung Taek-kyun Special Prosecutor Law.