The People Power Party and the Reform Party are even considering a joint hunger strike by the two party leaders to pass the Unification Church special counsel bill. As the Democratic Party of Korea showed differences over the right to recommend the special counsel and the scope of the investigation, they moved to apply pressure with a goal of handling the bill by the end of the year.
According to political circles on the 26th, the People Power Party and the Reform Party are considering a joint hunger strike by their party leaders if no agreement is reached with the Democratic Party on the Unification Church special counsel bill. The People Power Party and the Reform Party already introduced a special counsel bill on the 23rd to uncover alleged cash-for-favors involving political figures and the Unification Church. The Democratic Party is expected to introduce its bill soon.
The key issues in the Unification Church special counsel bill are the right to recommend the special counsel and the scope of the investigation. The People Power Party and the Reform Party argue for a third-party recommendation method in which the National Court Administration recommends two candidates for special counsel, given that figures from both major parties are implicated in allegations of taking money from the Unification Church. The Democratic Party says recommendations by the National Court Administration are no different from recommendations by "Chief Justice Jo Hee-de," and is floating bodies such as the Constitutional Court, the Korean Bar Association, and Lawyers for a Democratic Society as recommending authorities. In response, the conservative opposition proposed a joint recommendation by the Reform Party and the Rebuilding Korea Party, but the ruling party again rejected it.
Regarding the targets of the Unification Church special counsel's investigation, the People Power Party included alleged cover-up, quashing, and delays by Special Counsel Min Joong-ki in probing the Unification Church cash-for-favors suspicions. The Democratic Party, by contrast, views the essence of the case as "collusion between politics and religion" and argues that Shincheonji should also be included as an investigation target. The Democratic Party also sees an investigation into Special Counsel Min Joong-ki as inappropriate.
The conservative opposition suspects the Democratic Party has effectively begun a kind of "stalling for time." The opposition believes that while the Democratic Party outwardly agrees to a Unification Church special counsel, it will in practice prevent any agreement from being reached. Previously, the momentum for attacking the administration was lost as partisan strife dragged on over issues such as the appearance of Presidential Secretariat First Lady Office Chief Kim Hyun-ji at a National Assembly audit and the parliamentary probe into the decision to drop the appeal in the Daejang-dong case.
The People Power Party and the Reform Party, joining forces for the first time in the 22nd National Assembly, plan to move the Unification Church special counsel bill no matter what by the end of the year. If the Democratic Party delays handling the bill, they will hold a joint rally and are even considering a joint hunger strike by the party leaders. However, in the case of a joint hunger strike, the Reform Party is actively proposing it, while the People Power Party is taking a wait-and-see stance.
A key official of the Reform Party said, "If the Democratic Party shows a mood of refusing the special counsel, we should start the investigation into the 'Unification Church gate' even if we have to go on a hunger strike," adding, "Judging from past cases, there is a high possibility the Democratic Party will say it will accept the Unification Church special counsel bill and then pivot to something else." An official of the People Power Party said, "We will keep the options open and review various measures."