Opposition party proposes to remove ruling party's right to recommend special prosecutor

[Anchor]

The opposition party, which is pushing for a special prosecutor related to First Lady Kim Keon-hee, has submitted a proposal to amend the National Assembly rules that excludes the ruling party's recommendation rights for the special prosecutor to the standing committee's subcommittee.

The People Power Party has strongly opposed this, claiming it is a unilateral action that disregards constitutional procedures.

This is a report by Lee Seung-jae.

[Report]

A proposal to amend the National Assembly rules regarding 'how to constitute a permanent special prosecutor' has been presented to the National Assembly's operating committee, led by the Democratic Party.

[Park Chan-dae/Chairman of the National Assembly's Operating Committee/Democratic Party: "I would like to present this for a vote by the committee. Is there any objection?"]

The core of the amendment is to exclude the ruling party's recommendation rights when forming a candidate recommendation committee for a permanent special prosecutor to investigate the president or his relatives' cases.

This is a workaround as the special prosecutor law regarding First Lady Kim Keon-hee has repeatedly been blocked by the president's veto.

[Seo Mi-hwa/National Assembly Operating Committee Member/Democratic Party: "The presidential office has been all in on shielding Kim Keon-hee while rejecting all special prosecutors, and the prosecution is acting as the regime's henchman...."]

The Democratic Party intends to uncover three major allegations related to the First Lady, including 'stock manipulation by Samboo Construction,''pressure on customs drug investigations,' and 'violations of testimony and appraisal laws in the National Assembly.'

The People Power Party walked out, claiming that the exclusion of recommendation rights is 'unconstitutional'.

[Joo Jin-woo/National Assembly Operating Committee Member/People Power Party: "This will not only be subject to a dispute over authority but also, if it is unconstitutional in this way, I believe the president has a duty not to appoint a special prosecutor like the right to request reconsideration."]

The opposition party has also selected the First Lady, her older brother, and about 30 others as witnesses for the National Assembly's audit of the presidential office scheduled for Nov. 1.

The People Power Party attempted to counter this by selecting witnesses related to Lee Jae-myung and former President Moon Jae-in's family, but they were not adopted due to opposition from the opposition party.

This is KBS News, Lee Seung-jae.