(LEAD) National Assembly passes proposal on special investigation into first lady

▲ Lawmakers from the ruling People Power Party leave the plenary chamber on Dec. 28, 2023, before a special bill proposing to launch an investigation into a land development project is put to a vote. (Yonhap)

(LEAD) plenary session-special probe

(LEAD) National Assembly passes proposal on special investigation into first lady

(ATTN: CHANGES headline, lead, photo; UPDATES throughout with passage of bills; TRIMS)

SEOUL, Dec. 28 (Yonhap) -- The opposition-led National Assembly passed two contentious special investigation proposals Thursday, one of them into stock manipulation allegations involving first lady Kim Keon Hee.

The main opposition Democratic Party (DP) led the passage of the two bills by taking advantage of its majority in the National Assembly, while lawmakers of the ruling People Power Party (PPP) boycotted the votes in protest.

The ruling party has claimed the special probe proposals are a political ploy aimed at negatively painting the Yoon administration ahead of April's general elections, while the DP has argued that no one is untouchable, including the first lady.

First lady Kim has been accused of involvement in manipulating the stock prices of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, between 2009 and 2012. She has denied the allegations.

The other special probe proposal is about allegations that six prominent people of the so-called 5 billion club were promised 5 billion won (US$3.8 million) each from an asset management firm involved in a corruption-ridden development project in the Daejang-dong district in Seongnam, south of Seoul.

After the bills' passage, the office of President Yoon Suk Yeol said Yoon will immediately exercise his veto power as soon as the bills are transferred to the presidential office.

But vetoing the bills could run the risk of backlash ahead of the upcoming elections that could determine how his administration will fare in the remaining three years in office.

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