Ruling party announces its version of special probe into Yoon bill, excludes allegations of "instigating insurrection" among others

The rival parties are now each pushing at the National Assembly their respective versions of a bill calling for a special counsel investigation into President Yoon.

The ruling party announced its draft "excludes unlawful components" as stated in the opposition's while the main opposition urged the PPP to propose a more concrete plan.

Our National Assembly correspondent Lee Shi-hoo reports.

The ruling People Power Party announced it has decided to propose its own version of a bill for a special investigation into President Yoon's short-lived imposition of martial law that excludes what the party calls the "unlawful components" of the version drafted by the opposition parties, and with further restrictions on its scope and depth.

Floor Leader Kweon Seong-dong told reporters on Tuesday that the PPP's proposal leaves out "unconstitutional and toxic clauses" stated in the proposal by the main opposition Democratic Party.

These are mainly the allegations that Yoon and his aides "instigated an insurrection" and purposefully "induced foreign aggression."

Kweon further urged the DP to "engage in negotiations as suggested by Acting President Choi Sang-mok."

If the DP does not agree, Kweon warned that his party will ask the acting president to veto the bill.

Tuesday's announcement follows seeming discord among PPP members earlier, who up until the day before, were divided on whether the party should pursue an investigation into its conservative president.

Following Kweon's announcement, DP Spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said, "The opposition is open to discussions once the ruling party has proposed a concrete draft," adding that the PPP's bill appears to be more of "an idea" at the moment.

Kang said that if such negotiations take place before Thursday, the day the opposition parties plan to put their bill up for a National Assembly vote at a plenary session, it's possible a negotiated bill could replace it.

Earlier Tuesday, DP Floor Leader Park Chan-dae said the ruling party's "refusal to investigate allegations of insurrection in itself is an acknowledgment of its involvement in the insurrection," and urged the PPP to cooperate with the opposition.

The primary focus of the opposition's proposal is to uncover whether President Yoon unlawfully instigated an insurrection and violated the Constitution in the process.

The initial version of its bill was vetoed by Acting President Choi two weeks ago.

The opposition's goal is to have the bill officially go into effect before the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday.

Lee Shi-hoo, Arirang News.