Today's vote on "Mrs. Kim's Special Counsel"...'Lee Jae-myung Sentencing D-1' Tensions Rise

[Anchor]
At today's plenary session of the National Assembly, the third Kim Gun-hee independent counsel law pushed by the Democratic Party of Korea will be voted on.

Political tensions are rising in line with the first trial sentence of representative Lee Jae-myung, which is just a day away.

I'm connecting with the reporter. Reporter Na Hye-in.

The plenary session will be held at 2 p.m., right?

[Reporter]
Yes, the agenda has not been finalized yet, but after voting on more than 20 non-controversial bills on people's livelihoods and other agendas, the Kim Gun-hee Special Prosecutor Act is expected to be introduced at the end.

The special prosecution law, which the Democratic Party of Korea is trying to pass today, reduces the scope of the investigation to allegations of Kim's involvement in the manipulation of Deutsche Motors' stock price and suspicions related to Myung Tae-kyun, and gives the chief justice of the Supreme Court the first right to recommend the special prosecution candidate.

However, the Democratic Party of Korea included a so-called "right to veto" clause that allows the opposition to demand a re-recommendation if the candidate recommended by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is deemed inappropriate.

Park Chan-dae, the floor leader of the party, said in a morning meeting that suspicions surrounding Kim and Myung Tae-kyun are pouring out every day, claiming that the independent counsel has now become an order and historical responsibility of the people.

He appears to be emphasizing the legitimacy of the special prosecution by linking Myung Tae-kyun, who is undergoing an arrest warrant review today, and in the morning, Rep. Lee Joon-seok of the New Reform Party also made a determined statement.

Lee is suspected of delivering Yoon Suk Yeol's intention to Myung as the representative of the People's Power at the time ahead of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun's nomination for the June 2022 by-elections.

Speaking to reporters on his way to an overseas business trip today, he said that President Yoon once mentioned the nomination of the mayor or district chief during the 2022 local elections, claiming that the key is whether the president will intervene in the nomination.

He then said he looked for records of active communication with the president during the nomination period, and said he was willing to tell the prosecution something more certain if they were curious.

However, Rep. Lee stuck to the existing position that there is no message left regarding the nomination of former lawmaker Kim Young-sun that he sent to Mr. Myung, only conveying the party's atmosphere at the time.

[Anchor]
If the Democratic Party pushes ahead with the vote, it is difficult to block the people's power in reality, but we called a general meeting of lawmakers today, right?

[Reporter]
Yes, lawmakers are expected to gather just before the plenary session to discuss how to boycott the special prosecution law vote.

The Democratic Party says it has come up with an amendment, but in the end, the opposition party is deceiving that it will monopolize the right to recommend the special prosecutor, and if approved, it will suggest that President Yoon Suk Yeol exercise the right to request reconsideration, or veto.

Inside the People's Power, there is a consensus that the special prosecutor is on the way to the destruction of the party and the government, with no idea where the investigation will turn over the past nominations of Myung Tae-kyun and former lawmaker Kim Young-sun.

Rep. Yoon Sang-hyun, who was the chairman of the nomination management committee at the time of Kim Young-sun's nomination, reiterated to YTN that he had nominated according to clear standards and principles and had never discussed it with Lee Joon-seok, the then party leader.

Instead of the independent counsel, the ruling party will discuss the recommendation of a special inspector proposed by representative Han Dong-hoon as a solution to the Kim problem at today's general meeting of lawmakers.

Without a separate vote, the floor leadership is likely to be sorted out in the direction of negotiating recommendations with the opposition, and the temperature difference seems to remain between representative Han Dong-hoon and pro-Yoon-gye lawmakers, who emphasize rapid reform of the presidential office.

In particular, the pro-Yoon community is calling for a party audit over a recent post criticizing the president and his wife under the same name as representative Han Dong-hoon's family on the bulletin board of the People's Power Party.

This issue is also likely to be discussed at the general meeting of lawmakers today, and if a random debate takes place, the meeting is likely to continue after the plenary session.

[Anchor]
Representative Lee Jae-myung's first trial sentence is just a day away, so how is the atmosphere of the Democratic Party of Korea?

[Reporter]
All the key Democratic Party officials who spoke on the phone in the morning were convinced of Lee's innocence.

The prosecution said it was politically charged when it was not a case that would be a crime in the first place, and expected the judiciary to make the right judgment.

However, internally, it is also read that representative Lee is guilty, especially if he is sentenced to a fine of more than 1 million won, which is equivalent to invalidation of election, and seeks strategies.

Tomorrow's violation of the election law is linked to Lee's future presidential bid as well as whether he will return election reserves during the last presidential election, so the Democratic Party of Korea cannot help but pay keen attention.

The power of the people, who have been attacked by First Lady Kim, has launched a massive counterattack.

Representative Han Dong-hoon stressed at a morning meeting that if representative Lee is confirmed to be invalidated, the Democratic Party of Korea should throw up 43.4 billion won.

The Democratic Party of Korea has criticized this for trying to intimidate judges and deceive the people with a kind of "self-inflicted marketing" that could lead to the party's disintegration in the air.

Floor leader Choo Kyung-ho said, "No matter what the outcome will be tomorrow, Lee is likely to launch a bulletproof incitement to destroy the constitutional order," adding, "No matter how much public opinion is stimulated, the crimes committed will not disappear."

I'm Na Hye-in from YTN in the National Assembly.