On the 31st, Acting President Choi Sang-mok, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance, exercised his right to request reconsideration (veto) on the so-called Dual Special Prosecutors’ Act, including the ‘Kim Kun-hee and Insurgency Special Prosecutors’ Act.
At a cabinet meeting held at the Seoul Government Complex this afternoon, Acting President Choi said, ‘A bill on the appointment of a special prosecutor to uncover the truth of the rebellion through the unconstitutional declaration of martial law by the Yoon Seok-yeol government’ and ‘the stock price manipulation case of President Yoon Seok-yeol’s spouse Kim Kun-hee, etc.’ A motion to request reconsideration of the ‘Act on the Appointment of Special Prosecutors to Find the Truth, etc.’ was passed.
These bills were passed in the plenary session of the National Assembly led by opposition parties such as the Democratic Party of Korea on the 12th and then transferred to the government on the 17th. The deadline for exercising the veto was tomorrow (January 1).
Previously, the State Council members proposed vetoing the Special Prosecutor Kim Kun-hee Act three times, calling it ‘unconstitutional’. The special prosecution method of ‘opposition party recommendation’, which was pointed out as unconstitutional at the time, was also applied to this pair of special prosecutions.
Acting President Choi said, “The government requested reconsideration of this bill three times in the 21st and 22nd National Assembly, and all of them were repealed after re-approval by the National Assembly. Despite this, the Special Prosecutor Act, whose unconstitutionality was not resolved, was transferred again.” revealed.
He also said, “Compared to previous years, the scale of the investigation and the subjects of investigation have increased significantly compared to the previous special prosecutor’s law, and this bill appoints one special prosecutor each from the Democratic Party and non-negotiating groups.” He added, “The Supreme Court recommends it and the opposition party has the right to veto it.” He pointed out, “The unconstitutionality is greater than the previous special prosecution law, which could have been done.”
Regarding the Insurrection Special Prosecutor Act, he said, “It violates the constitutional principle of separation of powers by only granting the right to recommend special prosecutor candidates to the opposition party,” and added, “Even the Criminal Procedure Act places restrictions on the seizure and search of military secrets, but this special prosecutor bill excludes such protective measures, putting it at risk for national defense and diplomacy.” “It could lead to this,” he pointed out.
Acting President Choi said, “I fully understand the purpose of the special prosecution bill to thoroughly uncover the truth, but as a member of the State Council with the responsibility to protect the Constitution, I have pondered countless times about whether it would be appropriate to pass the special prosecution bill as is, which infringes on national interests.” “As it is an exceptional system for the separation of powers, stricter standards are needed so that the public can accept the results of the special investigation and completely resolve suspicions,” he emphasized.
Economy Queen reporter Kim Jeong-hyeon photo provided by the Ministry of Strategy and Finance
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