Yoon vetoes parliament's third attempt to launch special investigation into first lady

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Yoon vetoes parliament's third attempt to launch special investigation into first lady

Published: 26 Nov. 2024, 17:26

MICHAEL LEE
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Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, center, speaks during Tuesday's Cabinet meeting at the Central Government Complex in Jongno District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [NEWS1]

President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vetoed a bill passed by the National Assembly to establish a special counsel probe into various allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee, according to the presidential office.

Yoon exercised his veto power by approving a motion passed by his Cabinet earlier in the day that called on the legislature to reconsider the bill, which was the third of its kind to be sponsored by the liberal Democratic Party (DP).

The president has vetoed both previous bills targeting the first lady that were passed by the National Assembly in December last year and September this year.

In his opening remarks at Tuesday’s Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo defended the government’s decision to force the bill back to the National Assembly, where it must garner the support of at least two-thirds of the legislature with a majority of lawmakers present to override the president’s veto.

“The right to demand [parliamentary] reconsideration is practically the only constitutional means by which the president can check the legislature’s abuses of power,” he said, adding that the president “has a duty to defend the Constitution” and “cannot help but exercise his right to demand reconsideration of bills that contain unconstitutional elements.”

Both previous versions of the bill were scrapped after they failed to gather enough legislative support.

The latest version of the bill mandates the establishment of a special counsel to investigate allegations that the first lady was involved in a stock price manipulation scheme and interfered in PPP candidate nominations through self-proclaimed political power broker Myung Tae-kyun.

The bill would also entrust the nomination of the special counsel to the chief justice of the Supreme Court while allowing the DP and other liberal parties the right to request a new candidate if the initial nominee is considered unsuitable.

Democratic Party (DP) floor leader Park Chan-dae and other DP members hold up placards demanding a special counsel probe into first lady Kim Keon Hee outside the presidential office in Yongsan District, central Seoul, on Tuesday. [OFFICE OF REP. PARK CHAN-DAE]

Both the scope of the allegations to be addressed by the probe and the process to appoint the special counsel were adjusted from the bill’s previous iterations in an attempt to mollify the conservative People Power Party (PPP), which supports the Yoon administration.

The DP holds 170 seats in the 300-member National Assembly, but the conservative People Power Party (PPP) holds 108 seats — just enough to prevent vetoed bills from passing on a revote.

Both the government and PPP have staunchly opposed any moves to establish a special counsel probe into the first lady.

In addition to the allegations mentioned in the latest bill, the first lady has also been accused of accepting a luxury handbag from a Korean American pastor and maintaining a clique of current and former Yoon administration officials.

During his mid-term press conference on Nov. 7, Yoon said he was sorry for the public concern caused by various allegations against his wife, but also decried her “demonization” by politicians and the media.

Yoon also noted that his wife “had not acted appropriately” in the past and promised to prevent similar controversies in the future.

BY MICHAEL LEE [[email protected]]