‘Special Counsel Act on Fabricated Prosecution’ likely to pass today with the ruling party leading the effort

[Financial News] The so-called ‘Special Counsel Act on Fabricated Prosecution,’ aimed at investigating allegations of fabricated investigations and prosecutions by the prosecution under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, is expected to pass the National Assembly in a plenary vote on the 6th, with the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) leading the effort.
The DPK plans to force an end to the People Power Party’s filibuster (unlimited debate), which has been underway since the previous day, at around 4 p.m. that day, and then put the Special Counsel Act to a vote. The DPK submitted a motion to end the filibuster immediately after it began.
The special counsel’s investigation will cover allegations that state agencies, including the prosecution, the NIS and the BAI, conducted fabricated investigations and prosecutions targeting the DPK and political opponents under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration. It will also include the investigation and prosecution processes in cases related to President Lee Jae Myung, including the Daejang-dong, Wirye New Town and Baekhyeon-dong development cases, the subornation of perjury, Ssangbangwool’s remittance to North Korea, and the Seongnam Football Club sponsorship funds case.
Other subjects of the investigation include the statistical manipulation case under the Moon Jae-in administration, the shooting of a civil servant in the West Sea, the forced repatriation of North Korean fishermen who had defected, and the leak of classified information about the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system. The special counsel’s investigative team will have up to 309 members, including prosecutors and investigators assigned to the team and special investigators, and the investigation may last up to 200 days. The special counsel’s authority to withdraw indictments, which was included in the original bill, was removed during revisions.
The People Power Party has characterized the Special Counsel Act as a ‘law to save Lee Jae Myung,’ intended to neutralize trials involving President Lee, and is continuing its filibuster. The DPK, by contrast, says a special counsel is needed to investigate allegations of fabricated investigations and prosecutions by state agencies.

[email protected] Kim Kyung-min Reporter