Ruling Party Pauses on ‘Dual Special Counsel’ Bills, Handing Task to New Floor Leader

According to Financial News, the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) has hit the pause button on pushing the Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Act (covering alleged insurrection, Kim Keon Hee, and the death of Marine Chae) and the special prosecutor bills on the Unification Church and Shincheonji Church of Jesus, the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony (Shincheonji), which it had declared its “first bill of the new year” for plenary passage. The dual special counsel investigation had initially been expected to pass the plenary session on the 8th under the initiative of the ruling party, but with both parties agreeing to postpone the plenary to the 15th, the issue has effectively been handed over as a key task for the next parliamentary leader to be elected on the 11th.
According to political sources on the 9th, the Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Act submitted by the Democratic Party of Korea (formally titled the bill on the appointment of a Special Prosecutor to uncover the truth behind acts of insurrection, treason, and state capture allegedly committed by President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee), along with separate Unification Church Special Prosecutor Act proposals submitted by both parties to investigate alleged collusion between politics and the Unification Church, are scheduled to be reviewed at the Agenda Coordination Subcommittee of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly on the 12th. On the 7th, Chairperson of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee Choo Mi-ae convened a full meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee and formed the Agenda Coordination Subcommittee with four members from the Democratic Party of Korea and the Innovation Party, effectively enabling the broader ruling camp to pass the dual special counsel investigation bills on its own. On the same day, the DPK’s floor leadership proposed holding a plenary session on the 8th to the People Power Party, but the two sides ultimately agreed to push it back to the 15th.
Within the party, many expect that handling the dual special counsel investigation bills will become the first major task and a key test of leadership for the next parliamentary leader. Among the four declared candidates for the post, Bak Jeong and Han Byeongdo are seen as the leading contenders. Both Han and Bak have pledged in their campaign statements to ensure passage of the Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Act and thereby bring closure to the alleged insurrection issue.
However, the two candidates are expected to take different approaches regarding the Unification Church Special Prosecutor Act and the Special Prosecutor Act on Shincheonji. Han has cited the anti-filibuster law as a bill that should be handled alongside the Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Act, stressing that he will focus on clearing the backlog of livelihood-related legislation. By contrast, Bak, who has vowed to become a “floor leader who fights well,” has promised to secure passage of both the Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Act and the special prosecutor bills on the Unification Church and Shincheonji within this month.
Some within the party also note that, because the official term of the parliamentary leader to be elected in this by-election runs until May next year, the completion of legislation related to the alleged insurrection and broader reforms, as well as progress on livelihood bills, will likely influence any amendment of party rules on whether to allow a second term. One Democratic Party of Korea official predicted, “Aligning with the party leader’s stance of eradicating insurrection, while demonstrating strong negotiating power in dealings with the opposition, will be the decisive factor in determining whether the new parliamentary leader wins another term.”
jiwon.song@fnnews.com Song Ji-won Reporter