Acting President Choi Sang-mok speaks during a meeting at the Government Complex in Seoul, Jan. 20. Yonhap

Acting President Choi Sang-mok is likely to demand the National Assembly reconsider an opposition-proposed bill that calls for a special counsel probe into impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol over insurrection charges, a government official said Monday.

On Friday, the bill, proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), was passed during a parliamentary plenary session, despite unanimous opposition from lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party.

"Acting President Choi is deliberating how to handle the special counsel probe bill," the finance ministry official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Choi had vetoed a similar DPK-proposed bill on Yoon, stressing the need for bipartisan agreement.

The latest bill omits allegations that Yoon has committed "treason" by attempting to provoke a deliberate conflict with North Korea, which were previously part of the bill rejected by Choi.

The ruling party had still criticized the DPK-proposed bill as being "overly broad," and said it would propose its own version that does not include insurrection charges over Yoon's failed martial law bid.

The latest bill passed by the opposition-led parliament is unlikely to be included in the motion for the Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday, the ministry official noted.

The official noted it was difficult to say whether the bill passed with bipartisan support, while there also existed questions over the need for a special counsel given that the president is already in detention. (Yonhap)