Seoul: Six opposition parties have put forward a special counsel bill aimed at investigating allegations surrounding the impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol's alleged influence-peddling scandal related to the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the scandal centers on claims that Myung Tae-kyun, who describes himself as a power broker, accepted around 76 million won (US$54,400) from former ruling party lawmaker Rep. Kim Young-sun. The payment was allegedly in exchange for assisting Kim in obtaining a nomination for the 2022 parliamentary by-elections.
Myung is accused of securing Kim Young-sun's nomination by conducting public opinion polls that purportedly favored Yoon in the lead-up to the 2022 presidential election. The bill, if passed, would authorize a special counsel to delve into these allegations, focusing on potential involvement by Yoon and first lady Kim Keon Hee in the nomination processes for local elections, by-elections, and parliamentary elections last year.
Opposition parties have voiced concerns that the Changwon District Prosecutors Office, which is currently investigating Myung, may be intentionally stalling its inquiry into Yoon. They also plan to examine possible interference by officials at the Supreme Prosecutors Office and the presidential office of the senior secretary for civil affairs.