President Moon Jae-in on Tuesday legally authorized an independent probe into allegations that a power blogger tied to ruling party officials manipulated Internet comments for political purposes.

Earlier in the day the Cabinet approved the legislation on the appointment of a special counsel, which was passed by the National Assembly last week.

The scandal centers on the influential blogger, known by the nickname Druking, and his accomplices who are suspected of manipulating comments on Internet news stories in an effort to sway public opinion on hot-button political issues.

Druking was found to have relations with officials of the ruling party and the presidential office. He has claimed that former ruling party lawmaker Kim Kyoung-soo, a key aide to President Moon Jae-in, tacitly agreed to his campaign for the online opinion rigging.

Kim has flatly denied the allegations, dismissing the letter as a "fiction."

   The special counsel law calls for the Korean Bar Association to field four special prosecutor candidates before three opposition parties recommend two of them to President Moon. Moon is then required to select one of them as the special prosecutor.

The team also includes three assistant independent counsels, 13 prosecutors and 35 inspectors. It is expected to launch a probe after local elections slated for June 13. The investigation can last for 60 days and can be extended once by 30 days.

(Yonhap)