The National Assembly's "Special Committee for the Parliamentary Investigation into Fabricated Indictment Allegations by Political Prosecutors Under the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration" concluded its activities Thursday with the adoption of its final report. The Democratic Party of Korea said the parliamentary probe had exposed the reality of political prosecutors and announced it would pursue a "fabricated indictment special counsel" based on the investigation's findings, immediately filing a special counsel bill. Controversy is expected to arise as the bill grants the special counsel the authority to effectively withdraw indictments at its discretion.
The Democratic Party proposed the "Special Counsel Act for Investigating Fabricated Investigations and Indictments Under the Yoon Suk-yeol Administration" after concluding the parliamentary investigation committee's plenary session that day. The bill's submission was attended by members of the floor leadership, including Chief Whips Chun Jun-ho, Kim Han-kyu, and Jeon Yong-gi. Chun Jun-ho, acting floor leader of the Democratic Party, said, "This is to properly investigate the various facts revealed during the parliamentary probe into the fabricated indictments," adding, "We will process it as swiftly as possible within May."
The special counsel bill contains grounds for the special counsel to effectively withdraw indictments in cases prosecuted by the prosecution. The bill includes clauses stating that the special counsel may request the transfer of cases under investigation, indictment, or prosecution maintenance by prosecutors when deemed necessary in light of the progress of the investigation, and that the special counsel shall carry out the duties of maintaining prosecution (including decisions on whether to maintain prosecution) for the transferred cases. Although the bill does not directly specify the authority to withdraw indictments, legal circles interpret that withdrawal of prosecution is possible based on these provisions.
Rep. Na Kyung-won of the People Power Party strongly criticized the special counsel push, saying, "Even after the Democratic Party forced through the parliamentary probe, the situation did not turn around, so they are pulling out an unconstitutional special counsel to overturn it again."
The special committee held a plenary session that day and passed a motion to file complaints against a total of 31 witnesses for perjury and non-appearance. Those included are former Ssangbangwool Chairman Kim Seong-tae, currently on trial at the appellate court in the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, and former Ssangbangwool Vice Chairman Bang Yong-cheol, who testified that Kim had paid North Korean operative Ri Ho-nam in the Philippines as compensation for then-Gyeonggi Governor Lee Jae-myung's visit to North Korea. Also subject to complaints were Prosecutor Park Sang-yong, who investigated the "Ssangbangwool Group North Korea remittance case," prosecutors Kang Baek-shin and Eom Hee-jun related to the Daejang-dong case, former National Intelligence Service Director Kim Kyou-hyun, and former First Deputy Director of the National Security Office Kim Tae-hyo.
The People Power Party strongly protested and clashed with the Democratic Party-led proceedings until the final meeting. Rep. Shin Dong-wook of the People Power Party criticized, "This parliamentary probe has fully exposed the Democratic Party's instinct for human rights violations," adding, "Looking at today's adopted witness list, they filed perjury complaints against everyone who did not suit the Democratic Party's taste, without any logic."
