DP floor leader threatens special counsel probe of first lady

▲ The main opposition Democratic Party floor leader Park Hong-geun speaks at a general meeting of the party's lawmakers at the National Assembly in western Seoul on Jan. 17, 2023. (Yonhap)

main opposition-first lady

DP floor leader threatens special counsel probe of first lady

SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- The floor leader of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) threatened Tuesday to pursue an independent counsel investigation of first lady Kim Keon Hee, accusing the prosecution of conducting a politically motivated probe against party leader Lee Jae-myung.

Rep. Park Hong-geun made the remark a day after Lee was asked to appear for questioning, claiming the prosecution is fabricating charges against Lee while turning a blind eye to allegations of stock price manipulation involving the first lady.

On Monday, prosecutors asked Lee to appear for questioning on Jan. 27 as part of an investigation into corruption allegations involving a high-profile property development project. The summons came less than a week after Lee underwent the first round of questioning in a separate bribery case.

Lee has flatly denied all allegations against him.

"We can no longer accept the situation where the prosecution focuses on protecting first lady Kim and attacking the opposition party," Park said. "The Democratic Party will push for a special counsel probe into Kim Keon Hee."

The DP has been calling for an independent counsel probe into Kim, accusing her of being one of the influential market players that participated in manipulating the stock price of Deutsch Motors Inc., a BMW car dealer in South Korea, for about three years from December 2009.

Park also slammed Yoon for saying Iran is the "enemy and biggest threat" of the United Arab Emirates during his meeting with South Korean troops in the UAE earlier this week.

"It was an extremely dangerous remark," Park said, noting Yoon makes a diplomatic mistake whenever he goes on a overseas trip.

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