The National Assembly on Thursday rejected a bill mandating a special counsel investigation into the military’s response to a Marine’s death that was up for a revote after President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed it for the second time.
The bill was voted down in a 194-104 vote with one abstention at a parliamentary plenary session and ultimately scrapped for the second time after it was voted down in May.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which has a controlling majority of 170 seats in the 300-member Assembly, attempted to override Yoon’s veto but was six votes short. A vetoed bill requires support from two-thirds of lawmakers to override the presidential veto.
The DP-led bill calls for the appointment of a special counsel to look into allegations the presidential office and the defense ministry inappropriately interfered in the military’s investigation into the death of Cpl. Chae, who was killed during a search mission for victims of heavy downpours in July 2023.
The ruling People Power Party (PPP) has
argued adamantly against the bill, citing the need to first see the results of separate investigations by the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials.
Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik earlier said he will also table four controversial broadcasting bills aimed at reducing the government’s clout over public broadcasters during the session.
The rival parties are likely to clash fiercely at the session as the PPP has threatened to respond with a filibuster, expected to last at least five days, if the opposition seeks to pass the bills.
“We cannot agree on the unilateral move of the Democratic Party (DP) that has held a parliamentary committee meeting and pushed through the four bills on taking control of broadcasting without any proper or serious discussions between the ruling and opposition parties,” PPP floor leader Choo Kyung-ho said during a supreme council meeting.
He vowed to respond strongly to prevent the DP’s push to “take permanent control of public broadcasting.”
A f
ilibuster involves lawmakers holding the floor for extended periods as a way to prevent a parliamentary vote or delay the passage of a bill.
Under the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be stopped after 24 hours if at least three-fifths of all parliament members, or 180 lawmakers, consent to it.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
