DP to submit revised special counsel bill targeting first lady

The main opposition Democratic Party said Monday it will submit a revised special counsel bill focused on allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, which narrows the scope of the probe and allows a third party to recommend a special prosecutor.

DP spokesperson Han Min-soo said the party will submit the revised proposal focused on Kim's alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and allegations of interference in election nominations during a plenary session of the National Assembly on Thursday.

"We will include a provision for the recommendation of the special prosecutor by a third party and submit the revision," Han told reporters.

The bill currently pending in the Legislative and Judiciary Committee allows only the DP and nonpartisan opposition groups to each recommend one special prosecutor candidate.

People Power Party leader Han Dong-hoon had previously proposed the special prosecutor be recommended by a third party, such as the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

This will be the third version of the bill targeting the first lady following a similar proposal vetoed by President Yoon Suk Yeol last month, which was ultimately scrapped in a revote.

The decision to revise the bill is seen as an effort to secure support from the ruling PPP in case of another veto by Yoon, aiming to ensure the bill's passage through a revote.

During a press conference last week, Yoon said the DP-proposed special counsel bill is "unconstitutional" and "political propaganda," signaling that he will exercise his veto power once again.

On Monday, PPP floor leader Cho Kyung-ho said his party will recommend Yoon to exercise his veto power if the DP rams through the special counsel bill at the upcoming session.

The leadership of the PPP, which holds a little more than one-third of the 300 seats in the Assembly, has been trying to rally internal support to vote down the bill in a revote, which requires at least two-thirds approval. (Yonhap)