A new committee tasked with examining cases in which prosecutors allegedly violated human rights or abused their authority during investigations and indictments was launched Wednesday. The panel selected seven cases for its initial review, including the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case and the Daejang-dong development scandal.
The Ministry of Justice said it inaugurated the Committee for a Future of Prosecutorial Respect for Human Rights and appointed seven members, including attorney Jang Joo-young. The committee will select cases involving suspected human rights violations or abuse of prosecutorial power, investigate the facts, draft measures to prevent recurrence, and recommend steps to restore damages.
At its first meeting Wednesday, the committee selected seven cases for initial review: the Ssangbangwool North Korea remittance case, the Daejang-dong case, the case involving Kim Yong, former deputy director of the Democratic Research Institute, the Wirye New Town case, the Yellow Sea civil servant shooting case, the statistics manipulation case, and the case involving suspected false reporting of "defamation of Yoon Suk-yeol."
The committee requested that the justice minister establish an independent investigative body within the Supreme Prosecutors' Office. Under the plan, the investigative body to be set up at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office will conduct fact-finding into the relevant cases, and the committee will review whether prosecutorial power was abused and devise measures to prevent recurrence based on the findings. The committee also discussed selecting additional cases for review, including those in which human rights violations or abuse of authority were alleged during the exercise of prosecutorial power, as well as cases proposed by the public.
Earlier, Justice Minister Jung Sung-ho ordered in April the establishment of the "Committee for a Future of Prosecutorial Respect for Human Rights" to verify the facts of cases suspected of involving abuse of authority during prosecutorial investigations and indictments. The move reflected the view that, although a task force on human rights violations had been set up at the Seoul High Prosecutors' Office since September last year to investigate cases involving suspected human rights violations and abuse of prosecutorial power, it had been insufficient in resolving the allegations.
"To move toward a better future, the justice ministry and the prosecution must themselves uncover past wrongdoing, establish the truth, and undertake genuine reflection on it," Jung said. "The Ministry of Justice will do its utmost to ensure the committee can operate while maintaining independence and neutrality."
