Special prosecutor law discarded

[Anchor]

The government’s request for reconsideration of the so-called 'Double Special Prosecutor Law' and seven other bills was rejected in the National Assembly today (1.8), leading to their automatic disposal.

The Democratic Party announced that it would partially revise the special prosecutor law regarding insurrection charges and reintroduce it tomorrow (1.9), while the People Power Party began to consider proposing its own revised bill, estimating that the number of defecting votes had increased compared to the last vote.

This is Bang Jun-won reporting.

[Report]

All eight bills, including the 'Double Special Prosecutor Law' and the 'Grain Law', which returned to the National Assembly due to the government's exercise of its right to request reconsideration, were rejected and automatically discarded.

Assuming that the opposition party voted unanimously in favor, six members of the ruling party cast votes in favor of the special prosecutor law regarding insurrection charges.

This was one vote more than the last vote, but it was still two votes short of the required majority for passage.

The special prosecutor law concerning First Lady Kim Keon-hee is estimated to have four defecting votes.

[Park Chan-dae/Democratic Party Floor Leader: "It has been confirmed that there are not even eight members of the (People Power Party) with a sense of conviction. Just like Sodom and Gomorrah, which fell because there were no ten righteous people, the People Power Party will also perish."]

The Democratic Party plans to reintroduce the special prosecutor law regarding insurrection charges as early as tomorrow.

However, it has decided to modify it so that the right to recommend special prosecutor candidates is not solely held by the opposition party but entrusted to a third party.

This is interpreted as a strategy to draw more defecting votes from the ruling party.

Despite the party's stance to reject the bill, the increase in defecting votes has led the People Power Party to revise its strategy.

They have decided to discuss their own special prosecutor bill, excluding clauses such as the right to recommend special prosecutors and the scope of investigation.

[Kwon Seong-dong/People Power Party Leader: "We will discuss a proposal that removes unconstitutional elements and toxic clauses in a general meeting. (Is it open to proposal as well?) It depends on the outcome of the discussions."]

The Democratic Party is considering voting on the reintroduced special prosecutor law as early as Jan. 14.

This is KBS News, Bang Jun-won reporting.