Independent counsel bill passes

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Independent counsel bill passes

The National Assembly yesterday rammed through a bill to name an independent counsel to investigate the cash-for-summit scandal involving former President Kim Dae-jung.
Lawmakers of the Grand National Party and the conservative United Liberal Democrats voted for the bill. The government party’s representatives, the Millennium Democrats, did not attend the session. The vote to appoint the special investigator was 158 to 1.
Blue House associates said that President Roh Moo-hyun would not veto the bill on naming the independent counsel.
The counsel would look into allegations surrounding Hyundai Merchant Marine Corp.’s admitted cash transfer of $200 million to the North before the 2000 inter-Korean summit. The GNP contended that the money was a bribe to induce Pyeongyang to host the summit. The probe will try to trace the flow of the funds and determine whether the National Intelligence Service had a role in the transfer.
Allegations charging that Hyundai group affiliates sent $550 million to the North in the same year, and the whereabouts of $150 million Hyundai got for selling off its semiconductor factory in Great Britain, would also be subject to special inquiry.
President Roh will name the independent counsel, choosing between two candidates recommended by the Korean Bar Association. Prosecutors, policemen and taxation officers will assist the investigation, which will not exceed 120 days. Hoping to secure MDP assent for the bill, the GNP trimmed 60 days from its original proposal, issued during the December presidential election campaign. The investigation will be limited to allegations regarding the secret cash transfer to the North. Additional charges surfacing during the course of the investigation would not be subject to scrutiny.
At the Assembly’s plenary session, GNP lawmakers presented the independent counsel bill before voting on Mr. Goh’s confirmation. Normally, voting on appointments of senior officials takes priority in the Assembly. MDP lawmakers filibustered in an attempt to prevent the vote, arguing that Mr. Goh’s confirmation should be taken up first.
Opposing lawmakers exchanged heated words when Park Kwan-yong, the Assembly speaker, interrupted long MDP speeches. When the plenary session resumed, the party bloc left the Assembly, complaining of majoritarian tyranny by the GNP. The Donggyo-dong faction, loyalists of former President Kim, strenuously protested the vote.


by Chun Young-gi
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