Parties agree on permanent special prosecutor system

By Jun Ji-hye

The ruling Saenuri Party and main opposition Democratic Party (DP) agreed Thursday to allow the National Assembly to promptly appoint special prosecutors for the investigation of sensitive issues whenever deemed necessary.

The parties are expected to pass the bill named the Prosecution Reform Law today at a parliamentary plenary session.

“Many distrust the current method of appointing special prosecutors,” said Rep. Kweon Seong-dong of the Saenuri Party. “The bill is to create a fair appointment procedure.”

Under the current law, the president makes an appointment from among two candidates recommended by the Korean Bar Association.

The new bill mandates a recommendation committee under the National Assembly to find candidates.

Setting up such committee was demand from the DP.

In return, the DP accepted the governing party’s condition ― more than half of lawmakers voting for a motion to appoint a special prosecutor. The largest opposition party initially argued that one-third of lawmakers was enough.

However, the parties failed to narrow their differences over the basic pension bill, raising the likelihood that they will fail to approve the bill today.

The ruling party is insisting on offering a monthly pension of 100,000 won ($90) to 200,000 to the poorest 70 percent of senior citizens and linking the basic pension scheme to the national pension. The DP is calling for giving 200,000 won to the poorest 80 percent and opposes such a link.

In the lead-up to the 2012 Presidential election, President Park Geun-hye pledged to offer 200,000 won to all senior citizens aged over 65.