Anchor: The main opposition Democratic Party-led bill for a special counsel probe into alleged interference in a military report on the death of a Marine in 2023 was submitted to the plenary session of the National Assembly on Wednesday. In response, the ruling People Power Party countered by immediately beginning a filibuster.
Our Kim Bum-soo explains.
 
Report: As Speaker Woo Won-shik tabled the bill during the plenary session Wednesday, ruling People Power Party lawmakers protested the move and immediately launched a filibuster.
 
The bill seeks to appoint an independent counsel to probe allegations that the Yoon Suk Yeol administration interfered in the military's report on its investigation into the death of a Marine last year.
 
President Yoon in May vetoed a similar bill the members of the previous 21st National Assembly pushed to pass, but the newly-elected members of the opposition-dominated parliament are seeking again to launch a special counsel probe.  
 
While searching for missing victims of last year’s heavy rain, Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun was swept away by a torrent. He was later found dead without wearing a life vest, sparking sympathy and anger nationwide for the Marine Corps’ unsafe search and rescue operation. 
 
The opposition suspects that then defense minister Lee Jong-sup and presidential officials wielded their influence to prevent a fair investigation into the 20-year old soldier’s death, possibly as President Yoon exerted pressure to protect the top brass in the Marine Corps.
 
Almost a year after Chae’s death, main opposition Democratic Party lawmakers started to discuss the possibility of a presidential impeachment, claiming that abuse of power can form grounds for impeachment.
 
The ruling PPP says that the DP is seeking a special counsel probe only to pave the way to impeach the sitting president.
 
With the filibuster under way on this Wednesday evening, the scheduled parliamentary interpellation session has been canceled.
 
Under the National Assembly Act, a filibuster can be ended after 24 hours if at least three-fifths of parliament members consent to it. 

Opposition lawmakers are expected to vote for the passage of the bill on Thursday afternoon when the filibuster is forced to end. 
Kim Bum-soo, KBS World Radio News.