Ruling and Opposition Parties Enter Filibuster Over Handling of 'Fabricated Indictment' Special Counsel Bill

The ruling and opposition parties entered a filibuster standoff at the National Assembly plenary session on the 5th over the handling of the ruling party-led 'fabricated indictment special counsel bill,' which proposes appointing a special prosecutor to independently investigate allegations that prosecutors manipulated evidence during investigations before indictments. The Democratic Party completed the groundwork for plenary passage, having rushed the bill through the Legislation and Judiciary Committee the previous day.

The special counsel bill was passed under Democratic Party leadership in the subcommittee and full session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, with People Power Party lawmakers walking out en masse. The 12 investigation targets include development fraud in Daejang-dong, Wirye New Town, and Baekhyeon-dong, the Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea, and bribery related to Seongnam FC sponsorships, while the forced repatriation of North Korean defector fishermen, the leak of THAAD secrets, and allegations of manipulated economic assessments of Wolseong Nuclear Plant Unit 1 were added during the committee's revision process.

The People Power Party warned that if the special counsel bill reaches the plenary session, it will filibuster every bill up for a vote on the 5th. People Power Party leader Jang Dong-hyuk criticized the bill at the party's supreme council meeting that day, calling it 'a bill to save just one man: Lee Jae-myung.' Independent lawmaker Han Duck-soo also posted on Facebook claiming that 8 of the 12 special counsel investigation targets involve President Lee Jae-myung's own cases.

In response to the filibuster standoff, the Democratic Party is reportedly considering a so-called 'salami tactic,' passing the bills one at a time per day. The party is also pushing to bring five contentious bills to the plenary session, including the Democratic Meritorious Service Act and the Urban Redevelopment Act.

National Assembly Speaker Cho Joong-sik, who has not yet finalized the agenda for the 5th plenary session, is negotiating with the floor leaders of both parties until the last minute. Whether the bills will be handled at today's session will be decided based on the outcome of those talks.