The Korea Herald

지나쌤

Natl. Assembly set to vote on special counsel probe bill into Yoon's insurrection charges

By Yonhap

Published : Dec. 12, 2024 - 09:34

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Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party submit two bills mandating special counsel probes into President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration and first lady Kim Keon Hee's allegations, including her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and interference in election nominations, on Monday. (Yonhap) Lawmakers of the main opposition Democratic Party submit two bills mandating special counsel probes into President Yoon Suk Yeol's martial law declaration and first lady Kim Keon Hee's allegations, including her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and interference in election nominations, on Monday. (Yonhap)

The National Assembly is set to open a plenary session Thursday to vote on a special counsel bill to investigate whether President Yoon Suk Yeol committed insurrection and other violations over his short-lived declaration of martial law last week.

The Assembly will also vote on a bill mandating a special counsel probe into two key allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee -- her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and interference in election nominations through a power broker.

This is the fourth version of the bill targeting the first lady following a similar proposal vetoed by Yoon last month, which was ultimately scrapped in a revote last Saturday.

The bill was just two votes short of the 200 votes needed from the 300-member National Assembly to override the veto.

Additionally, the main opposition Democratic Party will introduce a new impeachment motion against Yoon later in the day and report it to the plenary session. It aims to put the motion up for a vote during an upcoming parliamentary plenary session Saturday.

By law, an impeachment motion must be put to a vote between 24 and 72 hours after it is reported to a plenary session.

The DP also plans to put to a vote impeachment motions against Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and Cho Ji-ho, head of the Korean National Police Agency, on Thursday.

On top of the special counsel probe bill against Yoon, the National Assembly has passed an opposition-led bill calling for a "permanent" special counsel to investigate his martial law imposition.

Unlike a regular special counsel probe, the president cannot exercise the right to veto a bill over a permanent special counsel, though he can delay the appointment of the counsel itself. (Yonhap)