“Even if the charges are unreasonable, you must fight not guilty at trial”… Criticism and concerns of special prosecution for manipulation of indictment

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Seungyeon Lee = As the so-called 'Special Prosecution Act on Manipulated Prosecutions', which investigates allegations of fabricated indictments by the Yoon Seok-yeol government prosecution, is about to be submitted to the plenary session, the legal community has voiced concerns and criticism.

While the trial of President Lee Jae-myung's criminal case is in progress, it is pointed out that it is against the rule of law for the special prosecutor to look into illegality in the investigation process again, and that there is a possibility of a conflict of interest as President Lee has the final authority to appoint the special prosecutor.

On the 5th, a lawyer who was a senior prosecution official pointed out, “From the name of the Special Prosecution Act, it seems to have been concluded that it was a ‘manipulated indictment.’”

He said, “Unless it is a case of creating evidence that does not exist or distorting the facts, the expression ‘manipulated indictment’ is very excessive.”

He continued, “Even if it seems like an unreasonable prosecution, it is a principle of the rule of law that in the end, a person must be acquitted by contesting the trial,” and added, “It seems very inappropriate for a special prosecutor to look into a case where the court has not yet decided whether the person is innocent or guilty.”

A constitutional scholar who requested anonymity also said, “It’s a bill that I don’t understand,” and added, “I don’t know what benefit our society can gain by investigating cases where the Supreme Court has not reached a conclusion.”

In the special prosecution bill for fabrication, cases related to the development of Daejang-dong, Wirye New Town, and Baekhyeon-dong involving President Lee, bribery cases related to Seongnam FC sponsorship, and Ssangbangwool remittances to North Korea were specified as targets of special investigation.

Regarding this, Han Sang-hee, a professor at Konkuk University Law School, said, "There are many cases related to President Lee under investigation, and there is a possibility of a conflict of interest for the president to directly appoint a special prosecutor to investigate them."

According to the special prosecution bill, the Democratic Party, the People Power Party, and the Fatherland Innovation Party each recommend one special prosecutor candidate, and President Lee has the final appointment authority.

Professor Han said, “If the president is involved (in the appointment of a special prosecutor) on any principle, there is a possibility of a conflict of interest,” and added, “The bill needs to be organized in a way to prevent the president from exercising his discretion in appointing a special prosecutor.”

Another prosecutor-turned-lawyer mentioned that in the past, when the Democratic Party was promoting the Kim Kun-hee Special Prosecutor Act under the Yoon Seok-yeol administration, it chose the opposition party (then Democratic Party) or a third party recommendation method.

He said, “It is a contradictory attitude that does not apply to oneself the standards applied to others.”

The special prosecution law on manipulation of indictments was passed at the general meeting of the Legislative and Judiciary Committee led by the Democratic Party of Korea the previous day. The Democratic Party plans to handle the matter at the plenary session on this day.