Democratic Party of Korea Floor Leader Han Byung-do on Thursday criticized the People Power Party for signaling it would use filibuster tactics to block a vote on the so-called fabricated-indictment special prosecutor act, calling it "an irresponsible act that holds the people's lives and the nation's future hostage to political strife while paying lip service to livelihoods." Han urged the PPP to "first fulfill the basic responsibilities of a political party."
Han made the remarks at a policy coordination meeting at the National Assembly on Thursday, saying the fabricated-indictment special prosecutor act was set to be put to a plenary session vote that day.
On the bill itself, Han said that if investigators had used their state-granted authority to coerce testimony and distort evidence, "those responsible must be held strictly accountable." He added that a parliamentary investigation held in April had brought to light specific indications of fabricated investigations and fabricated indictments by politically motivated prosecutors. "We must now confirm the facts through investigation and clearly establish the chain of command — from those who carried out the acts to those who ordered and reported them," he said.
Han said the amended bill had removed not only provisions related to the withdrawal of charges but also the right to demand the transfer of existing cases, so as not to obscure the purpose of uncovering the truth. "The special prosecutor is not about intervening in ongoing trials — it is about determining whether there were unlawful acts during the investigation process, such as coercing testimony and distorting evidence," he said.
Meanwhile, the fabricated-indictment special prosecutor act, which targets alleged prosecutorial misconduct under the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, cleared the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, driven by the Democratic Party. The bill's investigative scope covers a range of allegations, including breach of trust related to the Daejang-dong, Wirye new town and Baekhyeon-dong development projects; SBW's remittances to North Korea; bribery tied to Seongnam FC sponsorships; statistical manipulation under the Moon Jae-in administration; and the shooting death of a South Korean civil servant in the West Sea and the forced repatriation of North Korean defectors.
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