Opposition reoffers prosecutor bill

[Anchor]

The Democratic Party and other opposition parties have reintroduced the 'Special Prosecutor Bill for Insurrection Charges' just one day after it was rejected.

They transferred the right to recommend a special prosecutor, which was pointed out as a problematic clause, to a third party, and added allegations of foreign aggression inducement crimes for allegedly inducing military attacks from North Korea.

The ruling People Power Party criticized the bill as a hasty and unconstitutional proposal with an unlimited scope of investigation and decided to discuss their own special prosecutor bill.

Lee Ye-rin reports.

[Report]

Just one day after the bill was discarded, six opposition parties reintroduced the 'Special Prosecutor Bill for Insurrection Charges'.

The right to recommend special prosecutor candidates was given to a third party, the Chief Justice, instead of the opposition parties, and the right for the opposition to request re-nominations for the recommended candidates was not included.

The investigation period and personnel were reduced, and military confidential matters were excluded from the subjects of media briefings.

They aim to increase the chances of passing the bill by modifying the contents that the government and ruling party have opposed as problematic clauses.

[Kim Yong-min/Democratic Party Floor Deputy Leader: "In a situation where insurrection must be swiftly suppressed, we also want to minimize unnecessary political controversies and hope the law passes quickly...."]

The scope of investigation adds the allegation of 'foreign aggression inducement' related to President Yoon allegedly inducing military attacks from North Korea to the existing special prosecutor bill.

The People Power Party criticized the opposition's revised special prosecutor bill as hasty and unconstitutional as well.

They pointed out that baseless contents such as abduction, gunfire, and foreign aggression inducement were specified as subjects of investigation, and that the scope is too broad as it allows investigations into comments made by ordinary citizens.

[Joo Jin-woo/Legal Advisor of the People Power Party: "It’s like creating another prosecutor's office under the Democratic Party. Even things that have not yet been verified with objective evidence are treated as 'let's just see if it’s true or not'...."]

Meanwhile, the People Power Party decided to discuss their own special prosecutor bill considering the worsening public opinion and increasing defection votes after the emergency martial law.

The Democratic Party plans to handle the revised special prosecutor bill in the plenary session next week, but the key will be whether they can narrow the differences between the ruling and opposition parties regarding the subjects and scope of the investigation.

KBS News, Lee Ye-rin.