Public opposition to Yoon’s exercise of veto right

The National Assembly has passed a proposal for a special probe into allegations involving First Lady Kim Keon-hee. It became the first bill on a special investigation that passed the legislative body without any consensus built across the ruling and opposing parties along with the proposal for investigating those who allegedly received five billion won in bribes from the Daejang-dong developers. People Power Party lawmakers stormed out of the venue right before the vote started. The focal point of this bill is to discover whether First Lady Kim was involved in the Deutsch Motors stock manipulation scandal from 2009 to 2012. The prosecution looked into this case under the former Moon Jae-in administration for two years and under the current one for one and a half years but did not share any interim report with the public.

Following the passage of the bills, the presidential office stated that President Yoon Suk Yeol would give them an immediate veto. Typically, bills are declared or vetoed by the president within 15 days of being delivered to the administration. Its determination to give an immediate veto implies that it will not intend to wait until the last 15th day. The administration also said no to some ruling party members proposing to get the bill done after the general elections with some modifications to the provisions of the special probe bills.

President Yoon has reached where he stands thanks to his sincerity in leading fair and common sense-based investigations without any sanctuary left untouched. The previous special investigations of the NIS agent's online comments and former Justice Minister Cho Kuk targeted former Presidents Park Geun-hye and Moon Jae-in. If the First Lady can avoid going through a special investigation, how could it be justified in any way? Recent polls also show that 60 to 70 percent of respondents oppose the President's exercise of his veto right. There have been a very small number of contentious issues over which the majority speak with one voice in such a divided political landscape. This only illustrates how difficult it will be for President Yoon to turn his head away from public opinion.

Not surprisingly, Han Dong-hoon, the chairman of the ruling party’s emergency committee, may have been left at a crossroads awaiting the general elections next April. The ruling People Power Party walked out of the National Assembly on Thursday and would hold secret voting that could happen any time after a veto is exercised. Chairman Han showed his determination to sacrifice himself for the sake of political reform and declared that he would not run for the general elections next year. He put the interests of citizens before those of the party. As such, everyone, including President Yoon and First Lady Kim, is supposed to be part of efforts to promote self-sacrifice to contribute to governance.

Apart from his strong determination to give a veto, President Yoon will likely consult his aides and Chairman Han. Given the timetable of the special investigation, it seems evident that the opposition party will politicize the issue in its interests. However, special investigations have always been at the center of political controversy to a greater or lesser degree. President Yoon should gain an insight into the fact that the bill earns widespread public support. However, the ruling party disparages it as a bill being politicized regardless of public interests, with the general elections right around the corner. He also needs to ponder why the presidential office has not tried to make things right even though some of his supporters take a negative stance on First Lady Kim.