The National Assembly has formally begun discussions on a special counsel bill aimed at investigating the ballot shortage that occurred during the June 3 local elections, but the rival parties differed over the scope of the special counsel's investigation.
The Democratic Party of Korea moved to fast-track the bill with a focus on mismanagement of election administration, including the ballot shortage, while the People Power Party countered that the investigation should be expanded to cover all suspicions of election fraud. The Democratic Party, however, said it would maintain its push to process the bill at the plenary session on the 30th.
The National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee held a full committee meeting on the 27th and placed four National Election Commission (NEC) special counsel bills on the agenda—including bills proposed as party lines by the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, respectively, as well as a bill by Democratic Party lawmaker Baek Hye-ryun and a bill by People Power Party lawmaker Kim Eun-hye—before referring them to the First Subcommittee on Bill Review. The subcommittee conducted a combined review for about one hour and 40 minutes that day but decided to continue the review without narrowing differences on the key issues.
The biggest point of contention is the target of the special counsel's investigation. The Democratic Party's position is that the investigation should focus on the ballot shortage that occurred in the recent local elections and on the NEC's mismanagement of election administration, including dereliction of duty and abuse of authority. The People Power Party, on the other hand, argues that all fraud suspicions raised during the election process—including the so-called "twin votes" controversy—as well as cases newly uncovered during the investigation should all be included as targets of the special counsel.
Kim Seung-won, the ruling party's chief negotiator on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, met with reporters right after the subcommittee meeting and said, "The biggest point of contention is the target of the investigation." He explained, "The Democratic Party's position is to focus on the ballot shortage, but the People Power Party's position is to include all the various suspicions raised in the media, including early voting, so opinions emerged that the scope is excessively unclear." He said, "In the end, this is a matter to be negotiated at the floor-leadership level," adding, "We decided to discuss it again after seeing the results of the negotiations."
The People Power Party also takes the position that floor-level negotiations on the scope of the investigation should come first. Kim Tae-kyu, a People Power Party lawmaker on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, said, "This is a matter that the floor leaderships of both parties are also continuing to discuss," adding, "A political agreement on the scope of the investigation must be reached first."
There are also considerable differences over the size of the special counsel team and the investigation period. The Democratic Party's bill would compose the special counsel team with up to 30 seconded prosecutors, 70 seconded public officials, and 50 special investigators, and would allow the investigation period to be extended by 30 days only once. The People Power Party's bill, by contrast, would set the team at 15 seconded prosecutors, 130 seconded public officials, and 100 special investigators, and would allow extensions of 30 days each up to twice, for a total of 60 days. However, the method of recommending the special counsel is reportedly not a major point of contention, as the rival parties had earlier agreed to recommend candidates through a public recommendation committee.
The Democratic Party's policy is to push ahead with its legislative schedule as planned, separate from the floor negotiations. Its goal is to pass the NEC special counsel bill through the committee subcommittee, adopt it at a full committee meeting on the 29th, and process it at the plenary session on the 30th. Kang Jun-hyeon, the Democratic Party's chief spokesperson, met with reporters after the supreme council meeting that day and said, "The NEC special counsel bill requires a process for agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, but we are continuing consultations with the goal of processing it at the plenary session."
However, as the difference in positions over the target of the investigation remains large, there are forecasts that negotiations between the parties are likely to continue until the last minute. The Legislation and Judiciary Committee plans to reconvene the bill subcommittee on the 28th to continue reviewing the amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act, along with discussions on the NEC special counsel bill reflecting the results of the floor negotiations.
