Opposition party introduces first lady special counsel bill for 3rd time

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Thursday introduced a bill calling for a special counsel probe into allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee, the third time it submitted such a proposal. The new bill expands the scope of the proposed special counsel investigation to include recent allegations that Kim solicited the help of Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed political broker, to conduct public opinion surveys favorable to her husband ahead of the 2022 presidential election. Other added items for the investigation include allegations that the first lady interfered in candidate nominations not only ahead of last April's general elections but also ahead of the 2022 local elections and by-elections. The scope is also expanded to include suspicions the first lady and her aides were behind the presidential office leaking state secrets and assigning civilians with no formal position to carry out state affairs. The two previous special counsel bills were scrapped after being voted down in revotes triggered by President Yoon Suk Yeol's vetoes of them. As with the scrapped bills, the new bill also calls for an investigation into the first lady's alleged involvement in a stock manipulation scheme and her acceptance of a luxury bag. Source: Yonhap News Agency