Former Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok "Special prosecution law on fabricated indictments is unconstitutional... It destroys the separation of powers."

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Hwang Jae-ha = Former Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok strongly criticized the so-called 'Special Prosecution Bill on Manipulated Prosecutions' submitted to the plenary session of the National Assembly, saying it violates the constitutional separation of powers.

In a statement released on the 6th, former President Lee said of the special prosecution law, "Based on the overturned one-sided claims of the Daejang-dong, Baekhyeon-dong, and Wirye illegal development project groups, which are astronomical real estate speculation forces, and the defendants of illegal remittances to North Korea, the prosecutors concluded that they were 'manipulating investigations and fabricating indictments.'"

He continued, "The government investigation last April revealed that the claim of 'manipulated investigation and fabricated indictment' is absurd," and claimed, "All of our citizens are well aware of the purpose of this special investigation. However, conducting a special investigation does not change the truth. It does not eliminate or reduce existing crimes."

At the same time, he said, "We will try to open the way to cancellation of the indictment based on the one-sided results of the special prosecutor, but no prosecutor will follow suit. Unconstitutional and illegal political actions that deviate from common sense cannot destroy judicial justice. Rather, larger judicial problems will grow like a snowball, and the truth will soon be revealed."

Former Prosecutor General Lee pointed out contradictions in the Special Prosecutor Act, including that it runs counter to the prosecution reform of the Lee Jae-myung administration, which separates investigation and prosecution, and that the President appoints a special prosecutor to investigate cases involving the President.

He pointed out, "(The government and the Democratic Party) completely abolished the prosecution, saying that if the person investigating the case was indicted, it would fall into confirmation bias and violate the human rights of the person under investigation."

He also said, "The Democratic Party determines the target of investigation and the special prosecutor appointed by the President is an exception to the Democratic Party's 'investigation-prosecution principle,'" and added, "It even goes so far as to retroactively apply the prosecutor's authority under the abolished Criminal Procedure Act. It has created a criminal justice system that is advantageous to me and our side."

Former President Lee especially emphasized the unconstitutionality of the Special Prosecutor's Act, citing the fact that the special prosecutor's investigation targets, including Ssangbangwool's illegal remittances to North Korea, were cases involving former and current presidents and their close associates.

He emphasized, "The Special Prosecutor Act leaves open the path to cancellation of indictments, with only the president and his associates being exempted from trial. This creates and recognizes a separate social class, which is against the principle of equality under the Constitution. No one can be a judge in his own case."

Former Prosecutor General Lee explained, "President Park Geun-hye, President Lee Myung-bak, and Prime Minister Han Myung-sook were all tried. If the defendants and accomplices who were later found guilty make statements in their favor, a special prosecutor cannot be held each time and the investigation and re-investigation are repeated as 'manipulated investigation, fabricated indictment.'"

In addition, he said, "The problem must be resolved within the judicial system established in advance by the Constitution and laws," and added, "Resuming the special prosecutor's investigation into the president when the trial process has been suspended is like standing on one's head because the judicial process is proceeding in reverse."

He added, "Unconstitutional and illegal special prosecutors must stop. Judicial issues must be left to the judiciary. That is a lesson that must be learned from previous history," and added, "In the face of the reality that the Constitution and the rule of law are collapsing, I earnestly appeal once again."