National Assembly rejects bill on special counsel probe of first lady in revote

First lady Kim Keon Hee / Yonhap

The National Assembly voted Saturday to reject a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into corruption allegations surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The bill, which was put to a revote after President Yoon Suk Yeol vetoed it last month, failed to pass by just two votes with 198 votes for and 102 against.

A bill vetoed by the president requires more than two-thirds support, or at least 200 votes, from the 300-member National Assembly to override it.

Six lawmakers of the 108-seat ruling People Power Party appear to have rejected its party line to vote down the bill.

The bill calls for the appointment of a special counsel to investigate two key allegations involving the first lady — her alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and interference in election nominations through a power broker.

The scope of the proposed investigation was scaled back from two previous versions of the bill, both of which were vetoed by Yoon and then scrapped in a revote at the National Assembly.

The latest bill also calls for the Supreme Court chief justice to recommend a special counsel, with a clause allowing opposition parties to request a new recommendation in the event the proposed candidate is deemed unfit. (Yonhap)