Democratic Party Secretary General Cho Seung-rae said Tuesday that the ruling party "cannot avoid making various judgments about the impact on elections" regarding the "fabricated indictment special counsel bill" being pushed by the ruling party, but added, "If fabricated indictments are clear, we cannot simply stand by and watch."
Cho made the remarks on MBC Radio's "Kim Jong-bae's Focus in Sight" when asked by the host whether pursuing the fabricated indictment special counsel bill could negatively affect elections. "A parliamentary investigation committee related to fabricated indictments was previously activated, and based on the facts confirmed during the committee's operation, as well as additional matters we believe need to be verified, we proposed the special counsel as necessary," he said.
On May 30, the Democratic Party introduced a special counsel bill to investigate allegations of fabricated indictments by the prosecution under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration, including the Ssangbangwool inter-Korean remittance case and the Daejang-dong case.
The bill allows the special counsel, considering the progress of investigations, to request the transfer of cases currently under investigation, indictment, or prosecution by prosecutors when necessary, and requires the requested agencies to comply. Regarding the provision specifying that the special counsel performs the duty of maintaining prosecution (including decisions on whether to maintain prosecution) for transferred cases, some interpret this as effectively granting the special counsel the authority to withdraw indictments.
Regarding the timing of the bill's passage, Cho said, "The bill has been introduced, and how to discuss or process it must be coordinated while considering the National Assembly environment and various other factors." On the possibility of passing it through the plenary session before the June 3 local elections, he said, "We naturally think that way, but there are various conditions to consider."
"I am aware that there are quite a few opinions that the issue of fabricated indictments requires a process of clear examination and verification," he added. "We need to hear exactly what the opposition party thinks — whether they disagree on that point or whether they want to delay the processing timeline."
