Careful Monitoring of the Judiciary Committee's Detailed Schedule Coordination... "Witness and Reference Statements Affect Investigation"
[Asia Economy Reporter Bae Kyunghwan] The internal atmosphere within the prosecution is unsettled ahead of the National Assembly inspection starting on the 7th of next month. The controversy surrounding the heads of the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution, which was raised during last week's National Assembly government questioning, is now expected to be addressed in the upcoming inspection. The prosecution anticipates that the disputes during the inspection will significantly impact ongoing investigations.
According to the legal community on the 25th, the Ministry of Justice and the prosecution are closely monitoring the detailed schedule coordination for the National Assembly Judiciary Committee's inspection. Currently, each standing committee is discussing schedules and witnesses or reference persons, and the Judiciary Committee is still holding plenary meetings to handle these matters.
The biggest issue in this Judiciary Committee inspection is undoubtedly the allegations surrounding Minister of Justice Choo Mi-ae and Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-yeol. The ruling and opposition parties, having already faced off in the government questioning, have announced an all-out battle for the inspection.
The problem lies in new allegations or statements from reference persons raised during the inspection. Considering that the allegations involving Minister Choo and Prosecutor General Yoon's families raised during the government questioning led directly to investigations or complaints, the inspection, which summons witnesses, could influence not only the investigation process but also its outcomes.
A member of a prosecution investigation team said, "Ahead of the inspection, some Judiciary Committee members' offices request related materials through various channels," adding, "Statements made by Judiciary Committee members on-site often lead to complaints or accusations, which ultimately affect ongoing investigations."
In fact, just a day before last week's government questioning, the prosecution summoned Minister Choo's son, Seo, for questioning, drawing criticism as a 'show investigation.' Other actions such as the Ministry of National Defense's search and seizure, the indictment of Democratic Party lawmaker Yoon Mi-hyang?sensitive to the opposition?and investigations related to the late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon's sexual harassment victims, as well as investigations into allegations involving Prosecutor General Yoon and former People Power Party (formerly United Future Party) lawmaker Na Kyung-won’s families, were all conducted around the time of the government questioning.
Above all, the prosecution is most sensitively watching the decision on whether to summon witnesses. The opposition party's Judiciary Committee currently demands Seo be summoned as a witness, arguing that the person most knowledgeable about the case should testify directly. They are also considering summoning 7 to 8 related witnesses, including military officers and KATUSA soldiers who served with Seo at the Uijeongbu U.S. military base.
On the other hand, the Democratic Party regards witness applications as fomenting political strife and refuses to agree to summon even a single witness. Meanwhile, Kim Jin-ae of the Open Democratic Party has applied to summon Bang Sang-hoon, president of Chosun Ilbo, and Yoon Dae-jin, deputy director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute, as witnesses for the Supreme Prosecutors' Office inspection, and Hwang Hee-seok, former head of the Ministry of Justice Human Rights Bureau, as a reference person. Kim explained that if Prosecutor General Yoon, during his tenure as head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, met with parties related to the Bang family case, which was reported to the Central District Prosecutors' Office, in a private setting, it would be problematic.
A former investigation team member who was reassigned to a provincial post in the last prosecution personnel reshuffle said, "At the point when investigations are nearing completion, new statements made by witnesses summoned to the inspection can alter the direction of existing investigations, requiring the investigation team to reassess," adding, "This can lead to prolonged or inadequate investigations, so it would be appropriate for the National Assembly to refrain from summoning witnesses for ongoing investigations during the inspection."
There is also interest in how long Minister Choo's silence will continue. After the so-called 'private remark' incident on the 21st, when she targeted People Power Party lawmaker Kim Do-eup by saying, "That person is better off not being a prosecutor and being a lawmaker. It seems he will catch many innocent people," Minister Choo has remained silent in response to questions from lawmakers in the Judiciary Committee.
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