Anchor: The main opposition Democratic Party and the presidential office are clashing over a bill that the National Assembly passed on Thursday that calls for a special counsel probe into controversies surrounding a military report on the death of Marine Corporal Chae Su-geun last year.
Our Bae Joo-yon has more.
Report: The main opposition Democratic Party(DP) is pressuring the government to accept the so-called “Marine Corporal Chae special counsel probe bill” which parliament passed on Thursday.
During a meeting of the party’s Supreme Council on Friday, DP chair Lee Jae-myung said he believes President Yoon Suk Yeol will not veto the bill for he is not the culprit behind the issue, alluding to Yoon's remarks in the past that "those who refuse a probe are perpetrators.”
DP floor leader Hong Ihk-pyo said it is wrong for the president and the ruling People Power Party(PPP) to mention vetoing the bill before warning that the president and the PPP will face resistance from the DP and the public if the bill is rejected.
The DP is seeking to shed light on suspicions that government officials interfered in the military's investigation into the death of Marine Corporal Chae last year in an effort to protect the top brass in the Marine Corps.
The top office and the ruling PPP on the other hand say an ongoing investigation by the police and the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) into the case should take priority before considering the special counsel
The presidential office, which had expressed regret over the bill’s passage on Thursday, hinted at the possibility of Yoon vetoing the bill.
Appearing on a radio show on Friday, Yoon’s senior political secretary Hong Chul-ho said that if the top office accepts the bill, it would set a "bad precedent" and could even be considered a "dereliction of duty,” adding that it would naturally be difficult for President Yoon to accept the bill.
Hong’s remarks come a day after PPP floor leader and acting chair Yun Jae-ok said the party has no choice but to recommend that the president exercise his veto power.
Amid such strife, the DP on Friday elected Rep. Park Chan-dae as its new floor leader while Hwang Woo-yea, the PPP’s new interim leader, began official duties.
Bae Joo-yon, KBS World Radio News.