The Democratic Party of Korea on the 22nd introduced a "second comprehensive special counsel bill" to revisit allegations of insurrection, treason, and state affairs manipulation involving former President Yoon Suk-yeol and first lady Kim Keon-hee. The move comes from the judgment that the existing "three special counsels" investigation fell short of uncovering core suspicions due to limits on time and personnel. The targets of this special counsel's probe are 14 criminal allegations among the three areas (Kim Keon-hee, insurrection, and the death of a marine on duty) that were deemed to require additional investigation.
The Democratic Party's special committee for a comprehensive response to the three special counsels that afternoon submitted to the National Assembly's bill office the "Act on the Appointment of Special Counsel for Fact-finding into Acts of Insurrection, Treason, and State Affairs Manipulation by Yoon Suk-yeol and Kim Keon-hee." The bill was proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Sung-yoon as the lead sponsor, with members of the three special counsels special committee joining as co-sponsors.
After submitting the bill, Lee met with reporters and said, "The three special counsels launched in Jun. achieved certain results, but the investigation period was far too short and repeated warrant dismissals left fact-finding woefully insufficient."
There are 14 issues in total subject to investigation. Regarding the special counsel investigating the insurrection case, four suspicions were included: ▲ insurrection ▲ treason ▲ collusion in insurrection by state institutions and local governments ▲ the No Sang-won notebook. As for the Kim Keon-hee special counsel's targets, six issues were included: ▲ false statements in the presidential race, illegal campaign operations, and the Unification Church ▲ nomination transaction and illegal opinion polling ▲ presidential residence transfer ▲ Yangpyeong Expressway and the Changwon industrial complex ▲ directive to investigate Park Sung-jae ▲ use of secure phones and misappropriation of national and public property.
Regarding the special counsel into the marine who died in the line of duty, the following were included: ▲ lobbying allegations to save Lim Seong-geun and others ▲ abuse of official authority and destruction of evidence by public officials ▲ complaints and accusations ▲ allegations of hindering cognizant cases and the special counsel's investigation.
The scope of the investigation has also been greatly reinforced. The investigation period is up to 170 days, consisting of a 20-day preparation period, a 90-day main period, one self-extension (30 days), and one approved extension (30 days). The team will have up to 156 personnel, including one special counsel, five assistant special counsels, 30 prosecutors on detail, 50 special investigators, and 70 dispatched public officials.
The appointment method for the special counsel is the same as under the last three special counsels law. The Democratic Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party, a non-negotiating bloc with the most seats, each recommend one person, and the president appoints from among them.
The new bill grants the special counsel the "right to request disciplinary action." If a dispatched prosecutor or public official fails to follow the special counsel's direction or obstructs the investigation, the special counsel may ask the head of the respective agency to impose discipline, and the agency must act without delay.
The Democratic Party plans to soon push the second comprehensive special counsel as the party line. Special committee Chairperson Jeon Hyun-hee said, "Today, we introduced it under the auspices of the three special counsels special committee for now," adding, "In effect, it amounts to the party line, so we plan to go through procedures to approve it as such soon." This special counsel bill is expected to proceed separately from the "Unification Church special counsel" being pursued by both ruling and opposition parties.