Special Counsel Bill on Election Commission Passes Plenary Session... Bill to Abolish Prosecutors' Supplementary Investigation Rights to Be Handled on the 31st

The ruling and opposition parties reached an agreement on the special counsel bill to investigate allegations of violations of citizens' voting rights, including the shortage of ballots in the June 3 local elections, and the bill passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 30th. A Criminal Procedure Act amendment that would abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights was also introduced at the plenary session, but the People Power Party requested a filibuster, or unlimited debate to legally delay proceedings, so it is expected to be handled on the 31st.
■ Special counsel bill on the National Election Commission passes with bipartisan agreement
The National Assembly convened a plenary session on the 30th and passed the special counsel bill on the National Election Commission. After last-minute negotiations over the scope of the special counsel's investigation, the floor leaders of both parties agreed to include not only the ballot shortage incident but also most of the systemic election management failures uncovered during the parliamentary inquiry. The investigation will also cover the election computer system.
According to the agreement, the disputed scope of the investigation includes the ballot shortage incident, allegations of computer input errors in the election management system and manipulation of election statistics, such as falsifying turnout tallies, and cases identified during the investigation of related matters.
Under the nomination process, a citizen recommendation committee will be formed to recommend special counsel candidates, as initially agreed by the ruling and opposition parties. The Korean Bar Association (KBA) and the Law School Deans' Council will each recommend three candidates. Then, a citizen recommendation committee made up of three members recommended by each side will agree on two candidates and submit them to the president, who will appoint one of them.
The investigation team will consist of up to five special prosecutors, 70 special investigators, up to 20 dispatched prosecutors, and up to 70 dispatched government officials. The special counsel may spend up to 20 days after appointment preparing for the job, and the investigation period will last 90 days. If necessary, it may be extended twice by 30 days each, for a maximum extension of 60 days.
The activity period of the special committee for the parliamentary inquiry into the National Election Commission was also extended by 30 days. As allegations of turnout manipulation and other irregularities continued to surface until the final stage of the inquiry, the People Power Party had argued that the committee's term should be extended. In particular, it plans to conduct a recount of ballots stored at the ballot-counting center at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, under the supervision of the special counsel. The ruling and opposition parties have tentatively agreed to hold the recount at Olympic Park on the 18th of next month.
■ Bill to abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights introduced at plenary session
An amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act of the Republic of Korea, which would completely abolish prosecutors' supplementary investigation rights, was also introduced at the National Assembly plenary session that day. The amendment had already passed the first subcommittee on bill review of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 28th and the full committee on the 29th, led by the broader ruling bloc. The bill would prohibit prosecutors from conducting direct investigations, including supplementary investigations. However, it would allow prosecutors to request supplementary investigations from judicial police officers, and to expand victim protection, it would also allow complainants, victims, and accusers to file objections to police decisions not to refer a case for prosecution.
The amendment also drew controversy during the committee review process after a provision on grounds for a court to dismiss an indictment was added. The broader ruling bloc said courts could dismiss a case if charges were filed through a seriously unlawful investigation or if the prosecution clearly exceeded its discretionary authority. The ruling camp said it was merely codifying Supreme Court of Korea precedents, but the opposition is pushing back, calling it a move to shield Lee Jae Myung from criminal liability.
The Democratic Party is expected to force a vote and pass the Criminal Procedure Act amendment once 24 hours have passed since the start of the filibuster on the 31st. Once the amendment is passed, the National Assembly Act revision that would shorten the review period for fast-track bills from a maximum of 330 days to 90 days will be introduced. The People Power Party also plans to filibuster that bill, but since the session ends at midnight on the 31st, the filibuster is expected to end automatically as well. The fast-track reduction bill could then be put to a vote immediately at the first plenary session of the next session.
[email protected] Lee Hae-ram Reporter