Democratic Party Withdraws Its Own Special Counsel-Weakening Amendment

The Democratic Party has withdrawn its own proposed amendment to the Special Counsel Act just two days after introducing it.

On the 8th of this month, only one day after the special counsel probing the National Election Commission (NEC) launched, Democratic Party lawmakers on the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee put forward a bill stripping seconded prosecutors of their investigative powers — only to pull it back when faced with accusations of "weakening the special counsel." Critics also noted, one after another, that the ruling party had compounded legislative confusion at a point when roughly three weeks remain before the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office takes effect.

Amendment Stalled a Day After Launch

The NEC special counsel opened its doors on the 7th of this month. Even before the special counsel team began its investigation in earnest, ruling-party lawmakers introduced a bill to strip seconded prosecutors of their investigative authority. The problem was the special counsel's investigative structure. Under the Special Counsel Act, a substantial share of the hands-on investigation is handled by prosecutors seconded from the prosecution. Without their investigative powers, the special counsel team would inevitably be plunged into a staffing vacuum. Critics said the move amounted to cutting off the investigation's momentum right after launch.

As the controversy grew, Democratic Party floor spokesperson Lee Ju-hee signaled the bill's withdrawal in a notice to reporters.

"We introduced the bill abolishing seconded prosecutors' investigative powers in error. We will withdraw it."

The retraction came just two days after introduction. The investigative powers of seconded prosecutors remain intact under current law, shielding the special counsel's investigative framework from a direct shock.

Legislative Logic Tied to Abolishing the Prosecutors' Office

Behind the amendment stood the looming implementation of the Prosecutors' Office abolition. Once the office is abolished, prosecutors' investigative powers will in principle disappear. The bill is read as having flowed from the logic that prosecutors seconded to the special counsel could be no exception — an apparent attempt to square the statutes with one another ahead of a sweeping organizational overhaul.

But the timing of the law's application was the problem. If the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office is the new principle going forward, this amendment would have applied it immediately to investigations already underway. The same principle, depending on when it takes effect, can produce the result of a stalled investigation. At the point where ideological consistency collided with investigative effectiveness, the ruling party ultimately chose the latter.

Political Aftershocks and Points of Contention

The sharpest criticism centered on the speed. Drafting a bill in a day and withdrawing it two days later, critics said, undermined legislative deliberation. Some argued it was effectively an attempt to neutralize the newly launched special counsel. Although the Democratic Party sought to douse the flames by officially admitting the bill had been "introduced in error," the political burden lingers with the prosecution-police overhaul just ahead. The opposition also looks likely to seize on the episode, expanding it into a broader fight over the abolition of the Prosecutors' Office as a whole.

Procedurally, a withdrawn bill is no longer subject to National Assembly review. It has returned to square one, without ever reaching committee deliberation or a plenary vote.

Remaining Tasks and the Road Ahead

The immediate fire has been put out, but the fundamental task remains. The gap between the seconded-prosecutor clause of the Special Counsel Act and the bill abolishing the Prosecutors' Office stands unchanged. Follow-up legislation will ultimately be needed to settle the status and investigative powers of seconded prosecutors when a new special counsel team is formed after the abolition takes effect.

The NEC special counsel's investigation is expected to gather pace regardless of the controversy. With seconded prosecutors' investigative powers preserved, practical work — securing evidence, conducting summons interviews and the like — is expected to continue without interruption. The investigation's findings are likely to become a political variable as they intertwine with the pre-abolition political landscape. The odds of the amendment being reintroduced look low for now, but the debate over adjusting prosecutors' investigative powers itself will remain at the heart of the political calendar in the run-up to, and aftermath of, the abolition.