▲ Acting President Choi Sang-mok speaks during a Cabinet meeting in Seoul on Jan. 21, 2025. (Yonhap)

Cabinet-special counsel probe

Cabinet likely to be convened Friday to discuss bill on special probe against Yoon: official

By Kim Han-joo

SEOUL, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- The Cabinet is likely to be convened later this week to discuss an opposition-proposed bill that calls for a special counsel probe into impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol on his failed martial law attempt, a government official said Thursday.

On Jan. 17, the revised bill, proposed by the main opposition Democratic Party (DP), was passed during a parliamentary plenary session, despite unanimous opposition from lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party. The opposition bloc currently dominates the 300-member parliament with 192 seats.

"It is likely that the Cabinet will convene an extraordinary session on Friday," the finance ministry official said on the condition of anonymity, noting the deadline for a decision to promulgate the bills or demand parliamentary reconsideration is Sunday.

The official, however, refused to comment on whether acting President Choi Sang-mok would demand parliamentary reconsideration.

Another finance ministry official earlier said it is likely that Choi will veto the bill, following his veto of a similar DP-proposed bill concerning Yoon, stressing the need for bipartisan agreement.

The latest bill omits allegations that Yoon has committed "treason" by attempting to provoke a deliberate conflict with North Korea, which were previously part of the bill rejected by Choi.

The ruling party had still criticized the DP-proposed bill as being "overly broad" and said it would propose its own version that does not include insurrection charges against Yoon.

(END)

[ⓒ K-VIBE. 무단전재-재배포 금지]