People Power Party takes to the streets over the ‘Fabricated Indictment Special Counsel Act’… Democratic Party: “Are you even opposing uncovering the truth?” - 경향신문

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At the National Assembly plenary session held on the 5th, as the People Power Party began a filibuster (unlimited debate) on the ‘Act on the Appointment of a Special Counsel for Fact-Finding into Alleged Fabricated Investigations and Fabricated Indictments by the Prosecutors’ Office, National Intelligence Service, Board of Audit and Inspection, and others under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration,’ Democratic Party lawmakers leave the chamber. Yonhap News

The People Power Party will hold an outdoor rally in downtown Seoul on the 7th to protest the so-called ‘Fabricated Indictment Special Counsel Act,’ which passed the National Assembly under the Democratic Party’s lead. The Democratic Party criticized the People Power Party’s street campaign, asking, “Are you even opposing clarifying the truth about alleged abuse of prosecutorial power?” The confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties over the special counsel bill is spilling into the streets.

According to Yonhap News, the People Power Party will hold a ‘National Rally to Denounce the Forcing Through of the Vicious Law to Cancel President Lee Jae Myung’s Trial’ near Exit 1 of Gyeongbokgung Station in Jongno-gu, Seoul, this afternoon. Lawmakers from the party, district party committee chairs, and party members attended. It is the first outdoor rally by the People Power Party in a little over a month since the National Foundation Day rally on October 3.

The People Power Party has labeled the special counsel bill, which passed the plenary session the previous day under the Democratic Party’s lead, as a law to cancel President Lee Jae Myung’s trial and plans to rally public opposition. In preparation for the possibility that the bill could be handled at a Cabinet meeting as early as next week, it decided to continue its street campaign. On the 9th, it will hold an on-site Supreme Council meeting in front of Cheong Wa Dae, and on the 10th, an on-site general meeting of lawmakers at the same location. Its lawmakers also plan to stage one-person protests across the country.

The Democratic Party strongly criticized the People Power Party’s street campaign. In a commentary released that day, Democratic Party spokesperson Son Myung-su said, “If the state’s investigative and prosecutorial powers were abused for political purposes, that would shake the foundations of the rule of law,” adding, “We must clearly uncover the truth through a special counsel investigation and ensure that such things never happen again.”

Addressing the People Power Party, Son asked, “Do you mean you even oppose getting to the truth about alleged abuse of prosecutorial power?” and “Are you saying we should not determine whether state power was abused for political ends?” He also argued that by defining the special counsel bill as ‘saving the president’ and taking to the streets, the People Power Party is misleading the public while turning a blind eye to the essence of the special counsel.

The Democratic Party also stressed that the clause concerning the special counsel’s authority to decide whether to maintain indictments was deleted during the bill’s review. That clause would have allowed the special counsel to determine whether to maintain prosecutions in existing cases, which the People Power Party had criticized as a device that could affect trials related to President Lee Jae Myung. The Democratic Party says that, with the clause removed, the People Power Party’s assertion is inconsistent with the facts.

The bill’s official name is the ‘Act on the Appointment of a Special Counsel for Fact-Finding into Alleged Fabricated Investigations and Fabricated Indictments by the Prosecutors’ Office, National Intelligence Service, Board of Audit and Inspection, and Other State Agencies under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration.’ It provides for a special counsel to investigate whether there was fabrication or outside pressure in the course of investigations and indictments by state agencies during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration.

The investigation targets include 12 items, covering not only cases related to President Lee Jae Myung such as the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong developments, Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea, Seongnam FC sponsorships, and alleged subornation of perjury involving Kim Jin-sung, but also alleged manipulation of statistics under the Moon Jae-in government, the shooting of a public official in the West Sea, the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen, and alleged manipulation of the economic feasibility of the Wolsong-1 nuclear reactor. The special counsel team will consist of up to 309 people, including the special counsel, assistant special counsels, 20 dispatched prosecutors, and dispatched public officials, with an investigation period of up to 200 days including preparation. The Democratic Party, the People Power Party, and the Cho Kuk Innovation Party will each recommend one candidate for special counsel, and President Lee Jae Myung will appoint one of them.

The key points of contention between the parties are the necessity of a special counsel investigation and the president’s potential conflict of interest. The Democratic Party argues that it must be determined whether state power was improperly exercised in past investigations and indictments by state agencies. The People Power Party, by contrast, contends that, with cases involving the president himself among the investigation targets, having the president appoint the special counsel presents a potential conflict of interest. It also raises concerns that the special counsel could affect existing trials and the maintenance of indictments.

After the special counsel bill passed the National Assembly, the two parties advanced opposing narrativesfact-finding versus defending the presidentsuggesting that the dispute over the bill’s legitimacy and the scope of the investigation will continue for the time being.