Special Counsel Act on Manipulated Indictments passes the National Assembly… the seventh special counsel under the current administration, six cases involving President Lee Jae Myung also to be investigated - 경향신문

This article was translated by an AI tool. Feedback Here.

Shin Dong-wook, a People Power Party lawmaker (left), protests to Democratic Party lawmakers as voting begins on a motion to end the unlimited debate (filibuster) on the ‘Act on the Appointment of a Special Counsel to Clarify the Truth of Allegations of Fabricated Investigations and Manipulated Indictments by the Prosecution Service, the National Intelligence Service, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and Others under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration’ during the plenary session held at the National Assembly on the 6th. Yonhap News

The Special Counsel Act on manipulated indictments, which includes as investigation targets six cases in which President Lee Jae Myung has been indicted, passed the National Assembly plenary session on the 6th under the leadership of the Democratic Party. The People Power Party, which countered with a filibuster (unlimited debate), did not take part in the vote. Criticism arose that, by granting dispatched prosecutors investigative authority that the Democratic Party had abolished, the ruling party abandoned its own principle of separating investigation and indictment.

On this day, the National Assembly held a plenary session and, led by the broader proruling bloc, passed the ‘Act on the Appointment of a Special Counsel to Clarify the Truth of Allegations of Fabricated Investigations and Manipulated Indictments by the Prosecution Service, the National Intelligence Service, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and Others under the Yoon Suk Yeol Administration’.

The special counsel act was approved with 167 in favor and 1 against out of 168 lawmakers present. The lone dissenting vote was cast by Lee Ju-yeong of the Reform New Party. People Power Party lawmakers did not participate in the vote.

The bill had been placed on the agenda at the previous day’s plenary session, and the People Power Party launched a filibuster. After 24 hours had elapsed since the start of the filibuster, the Democratic Party submitted a motion this afternoon to end it, and the filibuster concluded around 5:20 p.m. through a vote by the proruling bloc.

Of the 12 cases subject to investigation under the special counsel act on manipulated indictments, six involve President Lee as a party. △ Allegations of breach of trust, receipt of valuables, etc., related to the Daejang-dong·Wirye New Town·Baekhyeon-dong development projects △ Alleged violations of the Public Official Election Act (false statement of facts) related to the Daejang-dong·Baekhyeon-dong developments △ Thirdparty bribery allegations related to Seongnam FC △ Alleged subornation of perjury involving Kim Jin-sung △ Allegations of remittances to North Korea by Ssangbangwool △ Allegations of use of corporate credit cards and breach of trust during his tenure as Gyeonggi Governor.

There are five cases related to the Moon Jae-in administration: △ The shooting of a West Sea civil servant and the repatriation of East Sea fishermen to North Korea △ Allegations of statistical manipulation under the Moon Jae-in administration △ Allegations of bribery in connection with employment for the soninlaw of former President Moon Jae-in △ Alleged manipulation of the economic feasibility of Wolsong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 △ A case involving leakage of THAAD classified information.

The Democratic Party says there is ‘no issue’, noting that it removed from this bill the controversial provisions on the power to cancel indictments and the right to request case transfers that had been included in the version introduced in April.

However, controversy over fairness and independence has arisen because President Lee appoints the special counsel, even though cases involving President Lee and Democratic Party figures are included among the targets of the special counsel investigation. The bill provides that the negotiating blocs, the Democratic Party and the People Power Party, and, among nonnegotiating blocs, the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, which has the largest number of lawmakers, each recommend one candidate, and the President appoints one of them.

This special counsel will be the seventh since the launch of the current government and the first to operate since the abolition of the Prosecutors’ Office. Up to 309 personnel may be assigned, including 20 dispatched prosecutors. The scale is similar to the special counsel on insurrection, which allowed for up to 317 personnel. The investigation period is up to 200 days, including a 20day preparation period.

The ruling party is also facing criticism of ‘double standards’ for carving out an exception in this bill to apply the previous Code of Criminal Procedure, rather than the amended code, with respect to prosecutors’ investigative authority. The Code of Criminal Procedure, amended under Democratic Party leadership and in force since October, abolished prosecutorial investigative authority and barred the use at trial of statements and materials obtained by prosecutors through interviews with complainants, factchecking, and similar means. However, for prosecutors participating in this special counsel, the preamendment law applies, granting both investigative authority and evidentiary admissibility.

Jang Dong-hyeok, leader of the People Power Party, delivers a denunciation at the ‘National Rally to Condemn the Forcible Passage of the Bad Law to Cancel the Trial of Lee Jae Myung’ held on the central steps in front of the main building of the National Assembly on the 6th. Yonhap News

In a Facebook post the same day, Cho Kuk, head of the Innovation Policy Institute of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, said of the special counsel on manipulated indictments adopting the preamendment Code of Criminal Procedure, “Applying an old law that has lost effect raises issues of unconstitutionality and illegality,” adding, “Even if prosecutors with investigative capability are needed to investigate alleged fabricated investigations by the prosecution, prosecutors are no longer an investigative body.”

In response, Kim Han-kyu, the Democratic Party’s senior deputy floor leader for policy, told reporters after a general meeting of lawmakers that day, “There may be differences of opinion, but there is no provision we view as unconstitutional,” and added, “Regarding investigative authority for dispatchd prosecutors, when we drafted the amendment to the Code of Criminal Procedure, we already stipulated that special counsels, assistant special counsels, and dispatched prosecutors have investigative authority under the previous code.” He continued, “The Constitutional Court has four times in the past held that which state institution has investigative authority falls within the National Assembly’s legislative discretion, so we judge it is not unconstitutional.”

On the criticism that ‘the President appointing the special counsel entails a potential conflict of interest’, Kim said, “Compared with other investigative bodies, if a special counsel is appointed without being under the President’s command and supervision, it operates independently, so we consider this a relatively appropriate method.”

With a budget season approaching, relations between the ruling and opposition parties are expected to grow more strained. The People Power Party strongly objected, calling the launch of the special counsel “an intention to cancel trials,” and began street protests. Floor leader Jeong Jeom-sik said at a floor countermeasures meeting that day, “This is a bad administration that is preoccupied with saving one person, President Lee, rather than saving the people,” adding, “The Lee Jae Myung fabrication administration pushing through a fabricated special counsel cannot escape the people’s judgment, nor can it escape the court’s judgment.”

The Democratic Party had planned to place on the plenary agenda as early as next week the ‘three bills to revitalize housing supply,’ which President Lee had urged be handled swiftly. However, with the People Power Party announcing a filibuster on the entire plenary agenda, passage of livelihoodrelated bills is unlikely to be smooth. As a result of prioritizing the special counsel act on manipulated indictments, criticism may also emerge that the ruling party is neglecting livelihood issues.