Lee Jae-myung: "Choo Mi-ae and Former Minister Cho Kuk Are Victims of Prosecutorial Witch Hunt"

High-Ranking Officials Crime Investigation Agency Must Be Established to Prevent Prosecutors' Excessive Abuse of Power

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] Lee Jae-myung, Governor of Gyeonggi Province, argued for the establishment of the "High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office" (Gongsoocheo), citing serious excessive abuse of power by the prosecution.

On the 19th, during the National Assembly's Public Administration and Security Committee's audit of Gyeonggi Province, in response to a question from Im Ho-seon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, asking, "I know you have suffered a lot emotionally until you were acquitted, but do you have anything to say about the prosecution?" Lee said, "There is talk about the prosecution making money by covering up and arresting people through fabrication," emphasizing, "There must be a Gongsoocheo to investigate the prosecution."

In particular, he said, "For the country to stand upright, the prosecution must stand upright, and if the final guardian of order, the prosecution, is broken, it becomes an unpredictable corrupt society," adding, "We also need to introduce a direct election system for the head of the prosecution, like in the United States."

He further criticized the prosecution, saying, "The biggest problem in South Korea right now is that the prosecution is manipulating public opinion rather than conducting investigations," and added, "I also suffered from a witch hunt, but recently former Minister Cho Kuk and Minister Choo Mi-ae have been politically attacked, though I don't know where the prosecution's materials leaked from."

When Lee served as mayor of Seongnam, he also advocated for radical institutional reforms as part of the prosecution democratization plan, including the direct election system for local prosecutors, fixed terms, and a recall system allowing residents to dismiss appointed Prosecutor Generals.