Assembly rejects special probe bill targeting first lady
The National Assembly rejected a special investigation bill targeting allegations of stock manipulation surrounding first lady Kim Keon Hee in a revote on Thursday.
Led by the main liberal Democratic Party of Korea (DPK), attempts to pass the bill fell short of winning two-thirds support from lawmakers in attendance. This was due to the ruling People Power Party (PPP) voting against it, which ultimately derailed the bill.
Initially voted and rushed through by the DPK on Dec. 28, the bill aimed to appoint an independent counsel to investigate Kim’s alleged involvement in manipulating the stock prices of Deutsch Motors, a licensed BMW dealership in Korea, between 2009 and 2012.
But the Cabinet requested the Assembly to reconsider the bill for being politically charged, and President Yoon Suk Yeol approved the decision immediately.
To be passed this time, the bill required the attendance of more than half of all registered lawmakers and approval by two-thirds of attending legislators. With the ruling People Power Party (PPP) deciding not to approve it, the outcome had been widely anticipated. Ultimately, the bill received 171 votes out of 281 lawmakers who were present at the session.
On the same day, another special investigation bill, aimed at former PPP lawmaker Kwak Sang-do and five other prominent figures accused of receiving 5 billion won ($3.7 million) each from a suspicious development firm in Seongnam of Gyeonggi Province, also failed to pass the Assembly threshold.
The bills were scrapped automatically following the Assembly session.
Meanwhile, the two parties passed a bill to finalize the rules of the April 10 general elections after reaching an agreement to cut the number of lawmaker seats assigned to proportional representation by one.
This decision followed months of unsuccessful negotiations over how to redraw the electoral map to align with the country’s declining population. Both parties were adamant about not relinquishing any of the constituency seats in their strongholds. As a result, they ultimately opted to reduce a proportional representation seat instead.
As a result of their agreement, the 22nd Assembly will consist of 254 constituency seats, up by one from the previous one, and 46 proportional representation seats, down by one.
Candidates for the elections will compete in 48 constituencies in Seoul — one fewer than last time. One more seat has been added to Incheon and Gyeonggi Province, each — in which the number of residents increased over the past four years.