Special prosecution bill on manipulation of indictments passed by the National Assembly led by... National Power “Lee Jae-myung’s bulletproof law” (comprehensive)

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporters Choi Pyeong-cheon, Oh Gyu-jin, Ahn Jung-hoon, and Lee Yullip = The so-called 'Special Prosecution Act on Manipulated Prosecutions (Bill)', which investigates cases related to President Lee Jae-myung and allegations of fabricated prosecutions by the Yoon Seok-yeol government's prosecution, was passed in the National Assembly led by the Democratic Party of Korea on the 6th.

The political situation at the end of the year is expected to freeze even further as the Democratic Party pushes for the passage of the Special Prosecution Act with a 'quick decision' and the People Power Party enters a hardline struggle.

At the plenary session on this day, the National Assembly passed 'A bill on the appointment of a special prosecutor to uncover the truth about suspicions such as manipulation investigations and fabricated prosecutions by state agencies such as the Prosecutor's Office, National Intelligence Service, and Board of Audit and Inspection under the Yoon Seok-yeol regime' with 167 in favor and 1 against out of 168 members present.

People Power Party lawmakers did not participate in the vote, and New Reform Party lawmaker Lee Ju-young voted against.

The Democratic Party passed the special prosecution bill after ending the filibuster (obstruction of lawful proceedings through unrestricted debate) that lasted for about 24 hours at the request of the People Power Party the previous day by voting.

Accordingly, the special prosecution for fabrication indictments will be the 7th special prosecution since the inauguration of the Lee Jae-myung administration, following the 3 special prosecutions (marine killed in the line of duty, civil war, Kim Kun-hee), the 2nd comprehensive special prosecution, the permanent special prosecution of Coupang, and the special prosecution of the National Election Commission.

The subjects of investigation are ▲ breach of trust related to the development of Daejang-dong, Wirye New Town, and Baekhyeon-dong ▲ violation of the Public Official Election Act related to the development of Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong ▲ Kim Jin-seong's perjury teacher ▲ Ssangbangwool remittance to North Korea ▲ bribery related to Seongnam FC sponsorship ▲ former Gyeonggi Province Governor Lee Jae-myung's use of a corporate card ▲ the prosecution's suspicions such as false reporting intended to defame former President Yoon Seok-yeol Investigation and prosecution.

The special prosecutor will also look into investigations such as ▲ Moon Jae-in administration's manipulation of statistics ▲ West Sea civil servants being shot and North Korean defector fishermen being forcibly repatriated to North Korea ▲ former President Moon Jae-in's son-in-law's bribery in connection with his employment ▲ THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) secrets leaked ▲ Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1's economic feasibility manipulation case.

The number of investigative personnel was set at 20 dispatched prosecutors and 210 dispatched public officials excluding dispatched prosecutors. It can consist of up to 309 people, including special investigators, and is similar in size to the Special Insurgency Investigation Office, which had a maximum of 310 people.

The investigation period is up to 200 days, including 20 days of preparation.

The special prosecutor had the Democratic Party and People Power Party, the negotiation groups, and the Fatherland Innovation Party, which has the largest number of members among the non-negotiation groups, recommend one person each. One of them will be appointed by President Lee.

In the supplementary provisions of the bill, when the Criminal Procedure Act is applied mutatis mutandis to the duties and authority of special prosecutors, assistant special prosecutors, and dispatched prosecutors, the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act prior to the enforcement of the Amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act are to be followed for parts related to investigative and commanding rights.

The content of the amendment to the Criminal Justice Act, 'abolition of the prosecutor's direct investigation authority', which was passed at the plenary session in July led by the Democratic Party, was not applied to this Special Prosecutor Act.

The bill takes effect from the date of its promulgation. A special prosecutor could be appointed as early as the 22nd.

Park Seong-joon, chief spokesperson of the Democratic Party, met with reporters at the National Assembly and explained, "When the Special Prosecutor Act is promulgated on the 10th, the Speaker of the National Assembly requests the President to appoint a special prosecutor in writing within 2 days. The President requests (political parties) to recommend a special prosecutor candidate within 3 days," and explained, "The final appointment will probably be around the 22nd."

The Democratic Party, which proposed the bill in April but postponed the timing of its processing due to opposition, excluded the controversial clause related to the so-called cancellation of indictments, confirmed its party line on the 3rd, and pushed through the bill through the Legislative and Judiciary Committee on the 4th and the plenary session on the same day.

The Democratic Party deleted the provision on the 'special prosecutor's right to cancel indictment', which had been controversial during the Judiciary Committee's review process.

Accordingly, the provision in the existing bill that allowed the special prosecutor to take over the case from the prosecutor and decide whether to maintain the indictment was omitted from the final bill.

The People Power Party immediately entered a filibuster (obstruction of legal proceedings through unrestricted debate) when the bill was submitted to the plenary session the afternoon of the previous day.

People Power Party lawmaker Joo Jin-woo said in the filibuster, “It is a clear conflict of interest for the Democratic Party to recommend and (President) Lee Jae-myung to appoint.”

When the Special Prosecutor Act was passed, Chief Spokesperson Park Chung-kwon criticized it in a commentary, saying, "It neutralized the rule of law in the Republic of Korea with a huge number of seats, and ruthlessly trampled on parliamentary democracy to cover up the sins of one president."

The People Power Party will hold an off-site protest in front of Gyeongbokgung Station on the 7th to engage in a public opinion campaign to raise awareness of the unfairness of the special prosecution's fabrication indictment.

In response, Democratic Party floor leader Han Byeong-do emphasized at the Supreme Committee meeting held at the National Assembly on this day, "Not only the right to cancel prosecution, which the People Power Party has always taken issue with, but even the right to request transfer has been deleted from the bill."

One floor leader criticized the People Power Party's plan for off-site struggle, saying, "Off-site struggle even ahead of the government inspection, off-site struggle even during the budget review. When are you planning on raising cows?"

The special prosecution bill has now left the National Assembly, but controversy surrounding the special prosecution is expected to continue in the political world.

Cho Kuk, head of the Cho Kuk Innovation Policy Research Institute of the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, wrote on Facebook before passing the bill, “Applying an old law that has already lost its effectiveness for a special prosecutor’s investigation raises issues of unconstitutionality and illegality.” This took issue with the supplementary provisions of the Special Prosecutors' Act, which required the dispatched prosecutors' investigative authority and command authority to follow the provisions of the Criminal Procedure Act before the amendment.

In response, Democratic Party Senior Vice-President Kim Han-gyu told reporters at the National Assembly, "When revising the Criminal Justice Act, the supplementary provisions stipulated that special prosecutors and dispatched prosecutors have investigative powers in accordance with the previous criminal prosecution law," and countered, "The National Election Commission Special Prosecutor's Law, which was passed by agreement between the ruling and opposition parties, also has the same provisions."

Some argue that the Democratic Party has completely removed the content related to the cancellation of the indictment, but some point out that there is still a possibility of the cancellation of the indictment indirectly.

It is argued that the Ministry of Justice's Future Committee for Respect for Prosecution Human Rights may recommend the Public Prosecution Service to cancel the indictment based on the special prosecutor's investigation, or the court may review the special prosecutor's investigation and dismiss the indictment.