By Lee Tae-hoon
Staff reporter
The National Assembly passed a bill, Tuesday, to appoint an independent counsel to investigate corruption allegations against prosecutors in a vote of 227 to 15 with 19 abstentions.
Calls for the independent counsel came after Park Gi-joon, a senior prosecutor at the Busan Prosecutors' Office, offered to resign over allegations that he received bribes and sexual entertainment, paid for by a businessman, for years.
The scandal broke out after a television network reported that the businessman, identified only by his family name Chung, had confessed that he bribed some 100 prosecutors over more than 20 years.
Under the legislation, President Lee Myung-bak will pick a special prosecutor from among two candidates selected by Chief Justice Lee Yong-hoon.
The prosecutor will then select an investigative team over the ensuing 20 days, before launching a 35-day probe that can, if necessary, be extended for a further 20 days.
The independent counsel will lead a 103-member team, including five lawyers with more than seven years of experience.
The passage of the bill came amid growing calls to overhaul the prosecution and launch an independent investigation team to further investigate the scandal.
Earlier this month, a fact-finding group, comprised of nine people from civic groups and the prosecution, concluded that dozens of those implicated had received favors, but only one of them should be subject to criminal prosecution.
The conclusion triggered criticism that the prosecution-led committee's lenient approach to the scandal has revealed its resistance to reform.