South Korea's ruling Democratic Party and the main opposition People Power Party (PPP) agreed on Tuesday to pass a special counsel bill investigating ballot shortages recorded during the June 3 elections. Under the deal, a six-member bipartisan committee will select two candidates for the special counsel role — drawn from nominations by legal professional bodies — and recommend them to the president for final appointment. The agreement also raised hopes of ending a broader parliamentary deadlock over committee chairmanships that has left South Korea's National Assembly (the country's unicameral legislature) largely idle for more than 50 days.