Park Chan-dae, the floor leader, attended a party strategy meeting held at the National Assembly on the morning of the 11th and delivered a speech. The opposition has resumed its special prosecutor offensive targeting the ruling party with the Myung Tae-kyun special prosecutor bill and a standing special prosecutor over suspicions of interference in drug investigations. On the 11th, the Democratic Party and other six opposition parties submitted a bill titled ‘Act on the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor for the Investigation of Myung Tae-kyun-related Illegal Election Intervention and State Management Scandal’ to the National Assembly.
Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the Democratic Party, stated at the party strategy meeting, “The Myung Tae-kyun special prosecutor bill is inevitable to uncover the full extent of the 12/3 rebellion and to establish the principle that those who commit crimes are punished.” He pledged to pass the bill by February. The ‘Myung Tae-kyun Gate’ scandal, first exposed last September, revolves around political broker Myung Tae-kyun’s alleged involvement with President Yoon Suk-yeol and his wife during the election, influencing nominations and various interests.
The opposition cited seven alleged targets for the special prosecutor’s investigation, including suspicions of illegal public opinion polling and election interference by Myung Tae-kyun during the 2022 local elections, by-elections, the 20th presidential election, and the 22nd general election. Other allegations include Myung’s and First Lady Kim Gun-hee’s involvement in the 2022 Daewoo Shipbuilding strike and the selection process of the Changwon National Industrial Complex, as well as Myung’s disclosure of state secrets to gain undue benefits. The bill also includes a provision to investigate cases identified during the investigation and allows the expansion of the investigation scope if leads on other suspicions involving First Lady Kim emerge. The special prosecutor’s nomination will adopt a ‘third-party nomination’ method, where the Chief Justice recommends two candidates, and the President appoints one of them. The National Assembly’s Legislation and Judiciary Committee plans to hold an inquiry on the Myung Tae-kyun Gate on the 19th.
The Democratic Party is prepared to use the ‘Myung Tae-kyun special prosecutor bill’ as a substitute for the Kim Gun-hee special prosecutor, which failed to be enacted, and the insurrection special prosecutor, whose legislative momentum has waned. The second insurrection special prosecutor bill, for which Acting President Choi Sang-mok exercised his veto on January 31, is awaiting re-vote. In January, when the first insurrection special prosecutor bill was rejected with 198 votes in favor (200 were needed), six votes broke away from the ruling party. However, following President Yoon’s detention and the rallying of conservative supporters, the prospect of additional breakaway votes is slim. A key party insider noted, “It’s not easy for the insurrection special prosecutor to pass,” adding, “We will prioritize the Myung Tae-kyun special prosecutor bill and anticipate re-voting on the insurrection bill in March.”
Within the Democratic Party, there are not a few who expect the Myung Tae-kyun special prosecutor will serve as an effective tool to check the ruling party candidate throughout the early presidential election landscape. A metropolitan assembly member remarked, “It’s a card that can take down Oh Se-hoon, Lee Jun-seok, and Hong Joon-pyo, who are involved in the Myung Tae-kyun Gate,” asserting, “The timing of the full-scale investigation by the special prosecutor will coincide with the early presidential election schedule.” Another senior legislator commented, “Given President Yoon’s situation, insisting on the Kim Gun-hee special prosecutor could spur sympathy for ‘Are they butchering the family?'” and suggested that by focusing on Myung Tae-kyun and exposing the ruling party, including President Yoon and his wife, they could also preempt backlash.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Party on the same day submitted a standing special prosecutor request for the ‘drug investigation interference suspicion’ that had been targeted along with the Myung Tae-kyun incident in the previously pursued Kim Gun-hee special prosecutor. The drug investigation interference suspicion involves allegations that the presidential office intervened in the investigation by Seoul Yeongdeungpo Police Station into customs officials allegedly aiding the smuggling of methamphetamine into the country by Malaysian drug gang members in late 2023. Regarding the existing Kim Gun-hee special prosecutor, Democratic Party spokesperson Roh Jong-myeon mentioned during a briefing at the party strategy meeting that “consideration for a standing special prosecutor on the Kim Gun-hee case is forthcoming.”
The People Power Party criticized the Myung Tae-kyun special prosecutor bill, with floor leader Kwon Seong-dong stating, “The Democratic Party’s obsession with special prosecutors is at an incurable level.” During a press briefing at the National Assembly, Kwon declared, “The content of our party being investigated will be included, and we do not consent to that,” and commented, “They only have such thoughts because Lee Jae-myung’s approval rating is low,” adding, “Old habits die hard.” Seo Ji-young, the party’s spokesperson, also issued a statement, referring to the Myung Tae-kyun special prosecutor bill as the “conservative annihilation special prosecutor bill.”