Gov’t demands parliamentary reconsideration of first lady special counsel bill for 3rd time

SEOUL, Nov. 26 (Yonhap) — The Cabinet on Tuesday demanded the National Assembly reconsider a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into corruption allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, the third time the government has sought a veto of the opposition-led bill.

A motion demanding reconsideration was approved during a Cabinet meeting held 12 days after the bill passed through the opposition-controlled National Assembly.

President Yoon Suk Yeol is widely expected to endorse the motion.

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.