South Korea: Main opposition urges acting president to sign special counsel bills or face consequences

Seoul: South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party (DP) on Sunday urged acting President Han Duck-soo to quickly promulgate special counsel bills against President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee, vowing to hold him accountable if he fails to do so.

DP floor leader Rep. Park Chan-dae made the call as Han faces a decision on whether to veto the opposition-led bills, mandating special probes into Yoon's short-lived martial law declaration on December 3 and allegations against first lady Kim Keon Hee, Yonhap news agency reported.

"If acting President Han does not promulgate the special counsel bills by Tuesday, (we) will immediately hold him responsible," he said in a news conference at the National Assembly in western Seoul, apparently indicating the DP would push for his impeachment.

Park said a special counsel investigating insurrection charges against Yoon would be "most rational," also adding there was no reason to delay an investigation into allegations against First Lady Kim over stock manipulation and interference in election nominations.

The National Assembly passed the two bills earlier this month in the aftermath of Yoon's short-lived martial law imposition.

The ruling People Power Party (PPP) slammed the DP's call, describing the bills as being intended to paralyse state affairs.

"(The bills) were designed by the DP with the ulterior motive of paralysing state affairs and the ruling party," PPP floor leader Kweon Seong-dong said.

On Thursday, Han vetoed six other contentious bills passed by the National Assembly, marking his first use of the presidential power since assuming interim leadership after the National Assembly voted to impeach Yoon on December 14.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, South Korean police said they had questioned acting President Han Duck-soo over his role in President Yoon Suk Yeol's botched imposition of martial law early this month.

Han was one of nine people the police said they questioned over their attendance at a Cabinet meeting Yoon held shortly before he declared martial law.

This marks the first time Han has been known to have undergone questioning as a suspect in the probe. "Of the 12 people who attended the Cabinet meeting, we questioned nine people, excluding President Yoon Suk Yeol, former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun and Unification Minister Kim Yung-ho," a police official said.