2026.11.05. The Fair Economy — The People Power Party launched a filibuster, or unlimited debate, against the special counsel bill on fabricated indictments, which the Minjoo party of Korea had pushed through to the floor of the National Assembly's plenary session. The bill removes the authority to withdraw indictments and calls for a special counsel team of up to 309 people to investigate 12 cases, including six related to President Lee Jae-myeong, for as long as 200 days. The Minjoo party filed a motion to end debate immediately after the filibuster began.
The National Assembly put the bill on the agenda of the 12th plenary session of the 439th regular session on the 5th.
The official title is the 'Special Act on the Appointment of a Special Prosecutor to Investigate Allegations of Rigged Investigations and Indictments by State Agencies such as the Prosecution Service, National Intelligence Service, and Board of Audit and Inspection under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration.' The bill, first proposed in April, passed the full Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 4th.
The investigation targets 12 items. Cases related to President Lee Jae-myeong include the Daejang-dong development allegations, Wirye Sindosi (Wirye), Baekhyeondong (Baekhyeon-dong) development allegations, false statements related to Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong, Seongnam FC sponsorship funds, SK's remittances to North Korea, Kim Jin-seong's subornation of perjury, and the Gyeonggi governor's corporate card case. The development allegations were originally separate items but were merged into one. Cases from the Moon Jae-in administration are also included: bribery related to the employment of former President Moon Jae-in's son-in-law, the shooting death of a public official in the West Sea and the repatriation of a North Korean sailor in the East Sea, the manipulation of the economic feasibility of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1, and allegations of THAAD secrets leakage.
The special prosecutor will be recommended one each by The Minjoo party of Korea, the People Power Party, and the Rebuilding Korea Party, which has the most seats among non-negotiating groups, and President Lee will appoint one of them. The team will consist of one special prosecutor, eight deputy special prosecutors, up to 70 special investigators, up to 20 dispatched prosecutors, and up to 210 dispatched public officials excluding prosecutors, for a maximum of 309 personnel. The period is up to 200 days including a 20-day preparation period if extended. This is similar in size to the insurrection special counsel team.
The Minjoo party revised the special counsel's scope of duties from "investigation, indictment, maintenance of indictment and decisions on whether to do so" to "investigation, indictment and maintenance of indictment." It also deleted a clause granting the authority to demand the transfer of cases. The People Power Party objects, arguing that the Prosecution Office could still withdraw an indictment based on the special counsel's findings. A Legislation and Judiciary Committee expert member wrote in a review report that there is room to interpret Article 255 of the Criminal Procedure Act as allowing such a withdrawal. The bill's supplementary provisions require seconded prosecutors to exercise their investigative and command authority under the Criminal Procedure Act as it stood before the revision.
When Rep. Park Hyeong-su of the People Power Party, a member of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee, took the floor as the first speaker at around 3:59 p.m., most Minjoo party lawmakers left the plenary chamber. The Minjoo party submitted a motion to end debate at around 4:01 p.m. Under the National Assembly Act, debate ends if at least 180 of the 299 sitting lawmakers vote in favor 24 hours after the motion is submitted. Jeon Eun-su, floor spokesperson for the Minjoo party, said the vote to end debate was expected between 3:30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on Nov. 6. The People Power Party plans to hold a rally in front of the National Assembly's main building on Nov. 6 and an outdoor rally at Gyeongbokgung station on Nov. 7.
The controversy over the indictment-withdrawal authority began immediately after the bill was proposed in April, stalling its progress for some time. President Lee Jae-myeong asked in September that the clause be removed, and the Minjoo party adopted this as party policy on Nov. 3 before deleting the clause at a Legislation and Judiciary subcommittee meeting on Nov. 4.
The first trials of President Lee's Daejang-dong and Wirye cases have been suspended since he took office, and the first trial of the SK remittance-to-North-Korea case remains suspended as well. His retrial on charges of violating the Public Official Election Act, remanded by the Supreme Court, is pending a hearing date at the Seoul High Court.
Legal circles believe that even without the provision, the special counsel's findings could affect trials. Article 327 of the revised Criminal Procedure Act, which took effect on the 2nd of last month, added serious illegal investigations and significant deviations from prosecutorial discretion as grounds for dismissal of indictment.
There is also criticism that the bill conflicts with the principle of separating investigation and prosecution. The government abolished the Prosecutors' Office on the 2nd of last month and established the Prosecution Office and the Major Crimes Investigation Office, but this bill would have the special prosecutor team receive dispatched prosecutors and handle both investigation and prosecution.
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