2024-05-04 05:44:01
Public opinion in favor of special prosecution for Corporal Chae is high.
If you refuse, you will be burdened with the image of being ‘uncommunicative’… National Assembly re-vote, concerns over defection vote
Lee Jae-myeong says, “He who refuses is the culprit” Pressure… “If you don’t exercise your veto, you’re dereliction of duty.”
It has been reported that President Yoon Seok-yeol announced his intention to exercise his veto on the ‘Corporal Chae Special Prosecutor Act’, which passed the plenary session of the National Assembly on the 2nd, saying, “Not exercising the right to request reconsideration (veto) is a dereliction of duty on the part of the president.” On the other hand, Lee Jae-myeong, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, put pressure on the acceptance of the special prosecution law by saying on the 3rd that “those who refuse special prosecution are criminals.” President Yoon and Representative Lee, who were seeking a path to cooperation through the Yoon-Lee meeting held for the first time on the 29th of last month, are in direct conflict over the veto issue, and the political situation is rapidly cooling.
According to the President’s Office and the ruling party on the 3rd, President Yoon reportedly mentioned the need to exercise his veto to his aides, saying, “Accepting this bill without agreement between the ruling and opposition parties is a dereliction of duty by the president and setting a bad precedent.” The position of the President’s Office is that it is not appropriate to introduce a special prosecutor as the High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office and the police are currently conducting an investigation according to procedures. Hong Cheol-ho, Senior Secretary to the President for Political Affairs, said, “Two steps are currently missing from the Special Prosecutor Act on Corporal Chae. It is a case being investigated by the Corruption Investigation Office, but there is one problem that goes beyond that, and there is the problem that the ruling and opposition parties have not reached an agreement, so it is significantly different from the Special Act on the Itaewon Disaster.” pointed out. He went on to say, “I am a president with a legal background, so I cannot take that part lightly.”
On the other hand, Representative Lee said at the party’s Supreme Council meeting, “The ruling party has been continuously saying for many years, starting with the incumbent president, that ‘those who refuse special prosecutors are criminals.'” He added, “I believe they will not reject it because they are not criminals.” On this day, the Democratic Party also announced its intention to push for a special investigation into the ‘suspicion of appeasing the Prosecutor’s Office over drinking,’ as claimed by Lee Hwa-young, former vice-governor of Gyeonggi Province, as soon as the 22nd National Assembly opens.
The President’s veto may be exercised within 15 days after the bill is transferred to the government. Considering the government’s schedule, the possibility of exercising the veto through the Cabinet meeting on the 14th is being discussed, and there are many issues that need to be considered until the actual exercise of the veto. Since President Yoon has exercised his veto power nine times based on the number of bills since he took office, it is a cause for concern that additional vetoes could deepen the image of President Yoon’s lack of communication and arrogance, which is considered the cause of the crushing defeat in the April 10 general elections. The fact that public opinion is high in favor of the Corporal Chae Special Prosecutor Act is also something that cannot be ignored. There are also concerns that if the ruling party’s withdrawal vote materializes during the National Assembly’s re-vote after the exercise of the veto, President Yoon’s momentum in state affairs may decline.
In the ruling party, President Yoon exercises his veto power, but further discussions can be held by revising the current provision that requires only ‘investigation first, special prosecution later’ or a negotiation group (Democratic Party) to which the president is not affiliated to recommend a special prosecutor candidate. There are also observations that the possibility of conditional acceptance may be left open.
Yong: “Not exercising the right to veto the special prosecutor is a dereliction of duty” Lee: “I believe he will not veto”
[尹-李 거부권 충돌]
The 10th veto, ‘Corporal Chae Special Prosecutor’ dilemma
Although the ‘right to veto’ is not officially mentioned… He told his staff, “It’s not a bad precedent.”
Following the Chief of Staff, the Senior Secretary for Political Affairs “Legislative outrage”… Noh Hong Ik-pyo: “We will face greater public resistance”
“It will be difficult for the President (Seok-yeol Yoon) to naturally accept (the Special Prosecutor Act on Corporal Chae).” Hong Cheol-ho, Senior Secretary to the President for Political Affairs, criticized on the 3rd, saying, “(The Special Prosecutor Act on Corporal Chae) is a legislative outrage that significantly violates judicial procedures.” Following Presidential Chief of Staff Jeong Jin-seok’s condemnation of “bad politics trying to exploit the unfortunate death for political purposes” the day before, there was an interpretation that the senior secretary for political affairs, who was the chairman of the Marine Comrades Association of the National Assembly, was trying to build a justification for exercising the presidential veto.
Nevertheless, the two did not publicly mention the word ‘veto’. This is interpreted as taking into account the fact that President Yoon has already vetoed nine bills since the inauguration of the current administration, and public opinion in favor of special prosecutor Chae Corporal is also high. It appears that concerns are deepening as the exercise of the veto could cause a fatal blow to the approval rating of the government due to the opposition’s failure to pass and the intensified arrogant frame offensive.
● To his staff, “Not exercising the right to veto is dereliction of duty.”
After the passage of the Special Prosecutor Act on Corporal Chae, President Yoon reportedly told his staff, “Not exercising the right of veto is a dereliction of duty by the president and setting a bad precedent.” Chief Hong said, “The special law on the Itaewon disaster, which the president said he would accept, is a matter that has ended the judicial process,” and added, “Corporal Chae’s case is a little different. He said, “This is a case that the police and the Corruption Investigation Office (High-ranking Public Officials Crime Investigation Office) are investigating.”
Furthermore, the President’s Office’s position is that since the military does not have the authority to investigate this case, the President’s Office’s contact to coordinate work between agencies is justified. Chief Hong said, “The purpose of the (Amended Military Court Act) is to have the police investigate since we cannot trust soldiers to directly investigate accidents within the military,” adding, “(The Marine Corps investigation team) should not have investigated.” He said to the Democratic Party, “Aren’t you saying you can’t even trust the Corruption Investigation Office? (Or) if an issue like this arises, we should completely amend the law to go all the way to a special prosecution,” he said, emphasizing that “we cannot just accept (a special prosecution) on a case where judicial proceedings are in progress.”
The President’s Office criticized the Democratic Party’s push for the special prosecution law, but did not directly mention the expression ‘exercise of the right to veto’. The legislative environment is not easy, with the presence of large opposition parties becoming more prominent after the general election, and it is a political burden for President Yoon to exercise his veto again a month after the crushing defeat in the general election. In addition to the previous 9 vetoes, if the Corporal Special Prosecutor Act is rejected while public opinion in favor is high, it will be the 10th veto and the controversy over ‘non-passage and arrogance’ may reignite. There are concerns that if it acts as a negative to the approval rating of the government, it could be a fatal blow to the approval rating of the government, which remains in the low 20% range. It appears that the reason Chief Hong emphasized on this day, “It is not the number of such cases (exercising the right of veto) that is important, but the content that is important,” seems to be due to these concerns.
There is also considerable public opinion in favor of a special prosecution to determine whether there was external pressure surrounding the investigation to determine the circumstances of the death of a young soldier who died at a young age while serving in the military for the country, and to determine the scope of criminal responsibility of those involved. According to the National Survey (NBS) conducted by Embrain Public, K-Stat Research, Korea Research, and Korea Research for three days starting from the 29th of last month, 67% of respondents were in favor of the Special Prosecutor Act, and 19% were against it. (95% confidence level) (Sampling error ±3.1% points. For details, refer to the National Election Opinion Survey Deliberation Committee website)
In addition, cooperation with the opposition party is essential to implement national tasks, but some are concerned that the exercise of the veto could cause the political situation to cool sharply and lead to a sharp decline in national administration momentum. Another variable is the fact that it is difficult to guarantee whether the ruling party will be able to show the same unity as before and form a blocking line in the re-vote when the veto is exercised, and if the number of breakaway votes increases, the President’s office’s ability to control state affairs may decline sharply.
● Democratic Party “If the right to veto is exercised, the opening of the 22nd hospital will be resumed immediately.”
On this day, the Democratic Party pressed for the acceptance of the Special Prosecutor Act and announced a strong offensive in the newly inaugurated 22nd National Assembly. New floor leader Park Chan-dae, who was elected on this day, announced that he would push for the bill that President Yoon vetoed as soon as the 22nd National Assembly opens, and that he would push for it again even if the Corporal Chae Special Prosecutor Act is repealed in the 21st National Assembly. Floor leader Hong Ik-pyo, who ended his term on this day, also said, “I clearly warn you that if the President’s Office exercises its veto on this (Special Prosecution Act), it will face not only strong resistance from the Democratic Party but also greater public resistance.”
Reporter Lee Sang-heon [email protected]
Reporter Eunji Kim [email protected]
Reporter Jang Seok-seok [email protected]
2024-05-04 05:44:01