Opposition party accuses special counsel of partisan bias, demands inquiry

Rep. Kim Byung-kee, left, floor leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Korea, and Rep. Song Eon-seog, right, floor leader of the main opposition People Power Party, walk out of National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik’s office after a meeting at the National Assembly in Seoul, Tuesday. Yonhap

The main opposition People Power Party (PPP) on Tuesday said it will file complaints against the special prosecutors investigating Kim Keon Hee, the wife of former President Yoon Suk Yeol, alleging that the investigation has been tainted by political bias.

The development comes as a former high-ranking Unification Church official, accused of illegally funding PPP members in 2022, testified at a hearing last week that the religious group had also sought contact with the Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) at the time.

On Monday, special prosecutors said they had obtained the testimony but ruled it outside their mandate because it was not directly tied to allegations involving the former first lady — the scope set by the special counsel law.

The team led by Min Joong-ki, a former chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, is examining 16 allegations against the former first lady and last week requested a 15-year prison sentence.

The prosecutors said they assigned an internal case number to the testimony, created official records and plan to forward them to another investigative agency.

PPP floor leader Song Eon-seog denounced the prosecutors’ move as a futile attempt to hide the obvious.

“Why are preliminary probes into the PPP pursued to the bone, while those into the DPK are brushed aside?” Song said. “This is a blatant dereliction of duty and an abuse of power in direct violation of the special counsel law.”

The DPK said that the special counsel should focus on the former first lady, arguing that widening the probe to every claim linked to the Unification Church undermines the purpose of the special counsel law.

DPK floor spokesperson Rep. Kim Hyun-jung called the PPP’s attacks on the probe a desperate act to stop the investigation, adding that if illegal funds also reached its own members, the matter can be fully investigated through proper legal procedures.