Opposition: 'Would the public trust a special prosecutor nominated by the ruling party?'
Ruling party holds back on specifics while calling for probe into allegations
Parliamentary investigation subcommittee holds second session Wednesday; visits Olympic Park Thursday
The ruling and opposition parties have agreed to pursue a special prosecutor to investigate the ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections, but a battle over nomination rights has already broken out.
Seo Beom-su, a People Power Party lawmaker and the opposition-side secretary of the National Assembly's special parliamentary investigation committee on the June 3 ballot shortage and electoral reform, said Tuesday at a floor strategy meeting that the Democratic Party of Korea had "belatedly announced it would accept a special prosecutor on voting rights violations as party policy." He added that "if the Democratic Party is sincere about accepting a special prosecutor, the nomination must come from the opposition."
"Most citizens believe the Lee Jae Myung administration and the National Election Commission are in cahoots," Seo said. "Would the public simply take the results at face value if the ruling party nominates the special prosecutor? If the Lee Jae Myung administration and the Democratic Party want to talk about fairness before the public, they cannot reject an opposition-nominated special prosecutor."
The Democratic Party adopted the special prosecutor as party policy Monday and moved to accelerate discussions Tuesday. Han Byung-do, the party's acting leader and floor leader, said at a floor strategy meeting that "a special prosecutor investigation is necessary to uncover the allegations of dereliction of duty, false reporting and evasion of responsibility revealed through the parliamentary investigation of the National Election Commission." He added that the party had "adopted the pursuit of a special prosecutor as party policy without hesitation, now that the need for one has become clear."
While the two sides have found common ground on pursuing a special prosecutor, friction is expected as detailed negotiations get underway. Talks on the scope of the investigation and nomination rights have yet to formally begin.
People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyeok wrote on Facebook on Sunday that the party "must fight to ensure the PPP nominates the special prosecutor." Citing a past case in which a special prosecutor targeting the Unification Church never got off the ground after the two parties failed to agree on nomination rights, Jang warned that he hoped the Democratic Party would not "repeat the pattern of announcing something to change the narrative and avoid a drop in approval ratings, then dragging things out with one excuse after another until the special prosecutor falls apart."
The two sides are also divided over timing. Some argue the special prosecutor should launch only after the parliamentary investigation concludes, while others say the two should proceed simultaneously. The parliamentary investigation subcommittee is set to hold its second session Wednesday, calling 70 witnesses including Interior and Safety Minister Yun Ho-jung for agency reports. A visit to Olympic Park is scheduled for Thursday, with hearings planned for July 14 and July 22. Lee Ju-hee, a Democratic Party floor spokesperson, said full discussions on the special prosecutor would begin "as soon as the formation of the Assembly's standing committees is finalized."
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