The bill, passed by the Democratic Party-controlled parliament in late February, calls for a probe into allegations that Myung Tae-kyun, a self-proclaimed political broker, received a bribe from former ruling party lawmaker Kim Young-sun in exchange for helping her secure nominations for the 2022 local elections and the 2024 general elections.
Both Myung and Kim have already been indicted on related charges.
The bill also calls for an inquiry into President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee, who are alleged to have been involved in the nomination process for those elections. There are also allegations that Myung manipulated polls in favor of Yoon during his presidential campaign, which Yoon has strongly denied.
In a Cabinet meeting, Choi expressed concern over the bill's broad scope and lack of clarity, pointing out that it could violate constitutional principles. But he also urged prosecutors to conduct a thorough and impartial investigation into the allegations.
With Friday's veto, Choi has exercised his veto power for the eighth time since abruptly assuming interim leadership in December last year, after Yoon's botched martial law debacle.
The DP immediately accused Choi of repeatedly using his veto power to obstruct key opposition-led bills.
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
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