Editorial: Special Counsel Bill Forced Through — Is “We Lost Because of the President” Someone Else’s Story?
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Editorial: Special Counsel Bill Forced Through — Is We Lost Because of the President Someone Elses Story Democratic Party faces backlash over unconstitutional elements as internal critics mirror U.S. midterm election blame dynamics
The Democratic Party processed the so-called “special counsel bill to investigate alleged fabricated indictments” at the National Assembly plenary session on the 6th. The Democratic Party claims there is no issue because it deleted the special counsel’s authority to dismiss indictments. However, there are multiple unconstitutional elements, such as the “conflict of interest” in President Lee Jae Myung directly appointing a special counsel to review whether the prosecution’s investigation against him was lawful. It is no different from appointing one’s own judge for one’s own case.
Criticism first emerged from within the ruling party. Former leader Cho Kuk said, “If prosecutors dispatched to the special counsel lead the investigation, unconstitutional and illegal issues could arise.” He pointed to the problem of stripping the prosecution of its investigative authority while granting investigative power to the 20 people dispatched as special counsel prosecutors. He even warned, “This could lead to serious trouble later.” Additionally, allowing reduced or exempted sentences for those who retract past statements infringes on the court’s authority. Former Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok criticized it as an “unconstitutional law or unconstitutional special counsel that undermines the separation of powers.”
This special counsel can be composed of up to 309 people, including dispatched prosecutors and investigators, with a maximum investigation period of 200 days. Amid concerns about a security vacuum due to the prosecution’s loss of investigative authority, the new criminal system has yet to take root. Yet, key investigative personnel are being deployed to a special counsel aimed at covering up cases related to the president.
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