First lady Kim Keon Hee / Korea Times photo by Seo Jae-hoon
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Tuesday vetoed a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into corruption allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, the third time he has rejected the opposition-led bill.
Yoon endorsed a Cabinet motion demanding parliamentary reconsideration of the bill, which was passed by the National Assembly on Nov. 14.
It marked the 12th time that Yoon has exercised his veto power since taking office in May 2022, and a total of 25 bills have been rejected amid ongoing tensions between the opposition-controlled National Assembly and Yoon.
"The right to demand reconsideration is almost the only means by which the president can check the legislature's abuse of power under our Constitution," Prime Minister Han Duck-soo said in his opening remarks at the Cabinet meeting.
"The president, who has a duty to defend the Constitution, cannot but exercise his right to demand reconsideration against bills with unconstitutional elements," he said.
The bill in question 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.
The main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), which has 171 seats in the 300-member parliament, said earlier it will push to put the bill to a revote soon after Yoon vetoes it.
The leadership of the ruling People Power Party, which holds a little more than one-third of the Assembly seats, has been trying to garner internal support to vote down the bill in a revote, which requires at least two-thirds support. (Yonhap)