Nat’l Assembly rejects three bills, including special probe targeting first lady

The National Assembly on Friday voted down three contentious bills, including one calling for a special investigation into allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, after President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed them.

The special counsel bill calls for an independent probe into Kim’s stock manipulation allegations, as well as her receipt of a luxury bag and her alleged interference with the ruling party’s candidate nominations ahead of the April 10 general elections.

The bill, which was up for a revote after Yoon’s veto earlier this week, was voted down in a 194-104 vote with one abstention and one invalid vote at a parliamentary plenary session and ultimately scrapped for the second time.

The opposition parties unilaterally passed the bill at a plenary session last month before Yoon vetoed it, demanding parliamentary reconsideration. A similar bill had previously passed through the Assembly but was also vetoed by Yoon in January and later scrapped in a revote.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) plans to introduce the legislation again in November after a two-week parliamentary audit that begins Monday.

Another bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military’s response to a Marine’s death also failed to pass parliament in a 194-104 vote with two spoiled votes.

The bill calls for a special counsel probe into allegations the presidential office and the defense ministry inappropriately interfered in the military’s investigation into a Marine’s death during a search mission in July 2023.

The DP had earlier passed three bills similar to it, but the latest one calls for the Supreme Court chief justice to recommend candidates for the special counsel.

The third bill proposes making it mandatory for the central and local governments to provide financial resources for the issuance of local currency vouchers designed to boost the economy.

All three bills were ultimately scrapped as they failed to gain the two-thirds support required to override the president’s veto. The ruling People Power Party holds a little more than one-third of the Assembly seats.