Lawmakers of the Democratic Party of Korea hold an emergency press conference in front of the presidential office building in Yongsan on November 26 to denounce the rejection of the Special Prosecutor Act. Reporter Han Su-bin

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President Yoon Suk-yeol exercised his right of reconsideration (veto) on the “Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act,” which passed the National Assembly for the third time on November 26.

He stuck to his stance of “rejecting the Special Prosecutor Act” even after public suspicions of Yoon and first lady Kim’s involvement in the nomination grew. It has been pointed out that the government's stance of “holding on to the Kim issue with the same approach” will limit its ability to secure future national power.

The government held a cabinet meeting presided over by Prime Minister Han Deok-soo at the Government Complex Seoul earlier in the day and voted to reintroduce the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act. President Yoon reauthorized the request for reconsideration later that day. With this, President Yoon has vetoed bills 25 times, including three of the Kim Keon-hee Special Prosecutor Act, since taking office.

The bill will return to the National Assembly and will go through a re-vote process at a plenary session on the 10th of next month, the last day of the regular session. Chu Kyung-ho, the floor leader of the People’s Power Party, and Park Chan-dae, the counterpart of the Democratic Party of Korea, agreed to the schedule after meeting with National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik at the National Assembly on the same day. If all 300 members of the National Assembly are present for the vote, the bill will pass if more than 200 members vote in favor.

“It is very unfortunate and regrettable that the opposition has once again unilaterally processed the Special Prosecutor Act, whose unconstitutionality has not been resolved in the slightest,” Prime Minister Han said in his address to the cabinet, arguing against the unfairness of the Special Prosecutor Act.

The opposition parties, including the Democratic Party of Korea, passed the bill in the plenary session of the National Assembly on November 14, emphasizing that it was a proposal that could be supported by the people. They emphasized that the law was weakened by reducing the number of investigative targets from fourteen to three and weakened in a way that a third party, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, recommended a special prosecutor.

“The bill has been modified in such a way that the chief justice has the power to recommend a special prosecutor, but if the chief justice deems the candidate recommended by the chief justice unsuitable, the opposition can exercise unlimited veto power,” Han said, adding, “The bill only has the appearance of a third-party recommendation, but in reality, it allows the opposition to dominate the recommendation of a special prosecutor.”

“Although the scope of the investigation has been partially reduced, there is no change in the essence of introducing a special prosecutor for cases being investigated by prosecutors and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials, undermining the principle of complementarity and exceptionality of the special prosecutor system,” Han said.

With the veto, Yoon reaffirmed his vigorous defense of the allegations against Kim. Since his press conference on November 7, he has made it clear that while he is looking to make some changes to his administration, including a cabinet reshuffle, this does not include changing his stance on Kim.

The president has maintained his stance on the Kim issue even after the luxury bag scandal, followed by the suspicion of Kim’s involvement in Mr. Myung Tae-kyun's case, making it clear that he is not backing down.

Analysts say it will not be easy for the president to secure state power in the future.

The presidential office has proposed solutions such as suspending Yoon and Kim's personal cell phones and temporarily suspending Kim's public activities. It is a “denial” stance on the underlying issue, but not a fundamental solution to restore the country's momentum.

Yoon has emphasized “fairness and common sense” since his days as a presidential candidate but has been criticized for undermining those values by appearing to defend the Kim controversy.

“He feels like he's gotten better because his approval rating has risen from the 10 percent range to the 20 percent range, but a 20 percent approval rating is still an embarrassing level,” a key official of the People’s Power Party said on the call.



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