Rival Parties Clash Over Passage of Special Counsel Bill on Fabricated Investigations

The People Power Party's slogan — "even a president should go to prison if he does wrong" — has become the biggest fault line dividing the National Assembly and the presidential office as of Sunday.

The confrontation between the ruling and opposition parties has reached a boiling point after the special counsel bill on probing fabricated investigations and prosecutions, pushed through by the Democratic Party and other liberal bloc, passed the Assembly's plenary session. The People Power Party has branded the legislation a "self-issued indulgence to erase President Lee Jae-myung's trial," and party chief Jang Dong-hyuk has openly called for the president's impeachment, even staging an outdoor rally in front of Gyeongbokgung Station on Saturday under the banner of a "citizens' rally denouncing the unjust law canceling Lee Jae-myung's trial."

Why Do the Parties See the Bill So Differently?

The bill's core provision would allow a special prosecutor to reinvestigate past prosecutorial cases tainted by allegations of fabrication. The liberal bloc argues it is legislation that confirms "prosecutorial power is not the private property of any particular administration." The People Power Party, by contrast, contends that the special counsel's mandate is effectively tailored to cases involving President Lee, claiming that six of the twelve items subject to investigation are related to the president.

The dispute has even spread to the Justice Ministry nomination. When the president named Radiation Safety chief Lee Yong-chul — a former justice official rather than a prosecutor — as justice minister nominee, the People Power Party immediately pushed back. Party chief Jang dismissed the pick as "the final piece of the Lee Jae-myung prison-break project." Supreme Council member Kim Min-su interpreted the appointment as part of the "Seongnam line" — a reference to the president's political roots — and a "signal of co-opting the pro-Lee Jae-myung faction," faulting its political implications.

Whether to Exercise the Veto Is the Turning Point Ahead

The next thing to watch is the president's decision. The opposition has openly demanded that he exercise his right to request reconsideration of the special counsel bill — commonly known as the veto. Vetoing it would provoke friction with the ruling bloc, while sending it back for reconsideration risks escalating into the impeachment scenario the opposition has threatened. The slogan "even a president should go to prison if he does wrong" symbolically captures the pressure the opposition is applying.

Apart from the political sparring, the substantive issue in the bill lies in how oversight of the prosecution is designed. Both parties appear, in principle, to have no fundamental objection to the goal of uncovering fabricated investigations. The problem is how the special counsel's targets and scope of authority would affect a particular individual's trial. If a special prosecutor reinvestigates a case already on trial, it could clash with the existing criminal proceedings, meaning legal battles are likely to be as fierce as the political ones.

Electoral Calculations Ahead of Local Elections Are Also in Play

The parties' hard-line confrontation at this moment also intersects with the electoral landscape. Recent polling trends suggest the opposition holds an edge in most regions ahead of metropolitan elections, except North Gyeongsang Province. Within the People Power Party, a comeback strategy centered on rallying conservative voters in the Yeongnam region is gaining traction — and the denunciation rallies and the impeachment card are aimed in part at fueling that momentum.

The ruling party is no different. On Saturday, President Lee stressed rational judgment among his supporters via social media, saying, "Offer praise, but not adulation; show support, but not worship." The remark, warning against religious-style veneration of politicians, is read as an effort to set himself apart from the opposition's reliance on hard-line supporters while pre-empting radicalization within his own base.

The president's remark that praise and criticism of those in power are necessary but that worship erodes democracy has, ironically, collided with the opposing camp's barrage of criticism of the bill, becoming a variable that will set the political temperature in the weeks ahead. Until a decision on the veto is made, the tug-of-war between the parties is unlikely to subside.