Nat’l Assembly Passes Special Counsel Bill to Examine Malicious Prosecution Claims

The National Assembly passed a bill on Friday to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations of malicious prosecution. Introduced by the Democratic Party (DP), the bill calls for an independent probe into claims that the prosecution under former President Yoon Suk Yeol fabricated evidence or induced false testimonies to build cases against then-opposition leader Lee Jae Myung and others.

The bill passed a plenary session with a 167-1 vote following a filibuster. While KBS World Radio reported the filibuster lasted 24 hours, The Korea Times noted that lawmakers from the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the vote. The PPP has strongly opposed the legislation, with party leader Jang Dong-hyeok stating the bill would allow a president's crimes to disappear. The PPP has accused the bill of being intended to cancel all indictments against Lee.

Opposition lawmakers protested outside the National Assembly prior to the vote and have planned an outdoor rally in central Seoul for Saturday.

Brief written by urgent.news from KBS World Radio, The Korea Times — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.