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| ▲ President Yoon Suk Yeol (2nd from L) and first lady Kim Keon Hee (2nd from R) attend a ceremony commemorating the 76th Armed Forces Day held at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, south of Seoul, on Oct. 1, 2024. (Pool photo) (Yonhap) |
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| ▲ Presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon speaks during a briefing at the presidential office in Seoul on Oct. 2, 2024. (Yonhap) |
(LEAD) Yoon-veto
(LEAD) Yoon vetoes three bills, including special probe targeting first lady
(ATTN: UPDATES with presidential office's response in last two paras)
By Kim Eun-jung
SEOUL, Oct. 2 (Yonhap) -- President Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday endorsed Cabinet motions demanding parliamentary reconsideration of three opposition-led bills, including one calling for a special counsel probe into first lady Kim Keon Hee's allegations.
It marked the 11th time that Yoon has exercised his veto power since taking office in May 2022, and a total of 24 bills have been rejected amid ongoing tensions between the opposition-controlled National Assembly and Yoon.
The most disputed bill calls for an independent probe into allegations the first lady was involved in manipulating the stock prices of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, between 2009 and 2012, illegally received a luxury bag in 2022 and interfered with the ruling party's candidate nominations ahead of the April 2024 general elections.
A similar bill previously passed through the Assembly but was vetoed by Yoon in January and later scrapped in a revote.
The main opposition Democratic Party (DP), which holds 171 seats in the 300-member parliament, said earlier it will push to put the bills to a revote soon after Yoon vetoes them.
The leadership of the ruling People Power Party, which holds a little more than one-third of the Assembly seats, has been trying to garner internal support to vote down the bills in a revote, which requires at least two-thirds support.
Another bill calls for mandating a special counsel probe into allegations the presidential office and the defense ministry inappropriately interfered in the military's investigation into a Marine's death during a search mission in July 2023.
The DP had earlier passed three bills similar to it, but the latest one calls for the Supreme Court chief justice to recommend candidates for the special counsel.
The third bill proposes making it mandatory for the central and local governments to provide financial resources for the issuance of local currency vouchers designed to boost the economy.
Presidential spokesperson Jeong Hye-jeon said Yoon exercised his veto right as the bills were "unconstitutional and unlawful," accusing the DP of pushing through controversial legislation for political gains.
Jeong said the special counsel bills were unilaterally passed by the DP again although both of them had already been vetoed and discarded. She also criticized the cash handout bill for its potential to create fiscal imbalances between provincial governments.
(END)
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