Nat’l Assembly Moves Forward with Special Counsel Probe into President Yoon and First Lady

SEOUL: The National Assembly of South Korea, controlled by the opposition, has passed a bill initiating a special counsel probe into President Yoon Suk Yeol concerning his attempt to impose martial law. The Assembly also approved a separate bill proposing an investigation into First Lady Kim Keon Hee regarding allegations of stock manipulation and election interference.According to Yonhap News Agency, the special counsel probe bill against President Yoon was approved with a vote of 195-86, with two abstentions, during a plenary session on Thursday. Earlier in the week, the Assembly had passed an opposition-led bill demanding a "permanent" special counsel to investigate the martial law imposition, a measure that the president cannot veto, though he can delay the counsel's appointment.Furthermore, the legislature passed another bill mandating a special counsel probe into First Lady Kim Keon Hee. This investigation will address allegations of her involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and interference in election nominations through a power broker. This marks the fourth iteration of such a bill, following a version vetoed by President Yoon last month, which narrowly failed to override the veto.In the same session, the Assembly passed impeachment motions against Justice Minister Park Sung-jae and Cho Ji-ho, head of the Korean National Police Agency, due to their roles in the martial law attempt. The motions were carried with votes of 195-100 against Park and 202-88 against Cho, leading to their suspension from duties pending a Constitutional Court decision on their impeachment.Additionally, the main opposition Democratic Party plans to introduce a new impeachment motion against President Yoon, intending to report it at a plenary session on Friday, with a vote anticipated in a subsequent session on Saturday. By law, an impeachment motion must be voted on within 24 to 72 hours of being reported to the Assembly.The developments underscore a period of heightened political tension in South Korea, with the opp osition leveraging its parliamentary control to challenge the president and his administration on multiple fronts.