Will Lee Seong-yoon's Bold Move with the 'Investigation Review Committee' Work?... Next Week, Prosecutor General Candidate Pool to Be Narrowed Down

Seong-yoon Lee, Chief Prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Choi Seok-jin] Attention is focused on whether the last gamble thrown by Lee Seong-yoon, the chief prosecutor of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who was a strong candidate for the next Prosecutor General but recently faced indictment over allegations of 'investigation interference,' will succeed.

On the 22nd, Chief Prosecutor Lee expressed concerns about the prosecution's 'targeted investigation,' requested the Supreme Prosecutors' Office to convene a professional investigation advisory panel, and applied to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office for the convening of the Prosecutorial Investigation Deliberation Committee (hereafter, Investigation Deliberation Committee).

Since the investigation team has already decided to indict, Lee is asking legal experts and ordinary citizens to judge the charges against him. Last year, when the Investigation Deliberation Committee recommended 'suspension of investigation and non-prosecution' for Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong and Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, Lee ignored the recommendation. Now, his application to convene the Investigation Deliberation Committee has been criticized as a 'trick' to delay the timing of indictment ahead of the Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee (hereafter, Recommendation Committee) meeting.

On the other hand, some speculate that ordinary citizens, who are not legal experts, might take a lenient stance toward Lee, who allegedly obstructed the investigation by Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won?who fabricated false official documents to prevent former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui's departure?and who covered up the investigation against Prosecutor Lee Gyu-won, due to negative public sentiment regarding former Deputy Minister Kim Hak-ui.

With the Recommendation Committee scheduled to be held on the 29th, whether the Investigation Deliberation Committee for Chief Prosecutor Lee will be convened before then, and what the outcome will be if it is convened, are expected to be the final variables in the selection of the next Prosecutor General.

On the 23rd, Acting Prosecutor General Cho Nam-gwan is expected to decide whether to hold the Investigation Deliberation Committee, which was requested by Suwon High Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutor Oh In-seo the previous day.

Normally, if the suspect, who is a party to the case, applies for the convening of the Investigation Deliberation Committee, the local prosecutor's office's citizen committee must hold a sub-deliberation committee to decide whether to refer the case. However, considering that forming the sub-deliberation committee would take considerable time, Chief Prosecutor Oh directly applied to Acting Prosecutor General Cho for the convening of the Investigation Deliberation Committee in accordance with relevant guidelines.

Unlike when the sub-deliberation committee decides to refer the case to the Investigation Deliberation Committee, if the chief prosecutor directly requests the convening, the Prosecutor General (or acting) has discretion over whether to convene it. However, the possibility that Acting Prosecutor General Cho will not convene the committee is low. The issue lies in the timing of the convening.

Typically, when the Recommendation Committee recommends 3 to 4 candidates, the Minister of Justice nominates one final candidate to the President as early as the day after the Recommendation Committee meeting, or at the latest within 3 to 4 days, and the Prosecutor General candidate is appointed.

Ultimately, Acting Prosecutor General Cho, who is also one of the candidates for the next Prosecutor General along with Chief Prosecutor Lee, must decide whether to convene the Investigation Deliberation Committee regarding Chief Prosecutor Lee before the Recommendation Committee meeting scheduled for next Thursday or after it.

Meanwhile, Chief Prosecutor Oh drew a line regarding the professional investigation advisory panel requested by Chief Prosecutor Lee the previous day, stating, "This is a system where the Prosecutor General convenes the panel ex officio when there is a disagreement between the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and local prosecutors' offices regarding the investigation or handling of important cases, which does not apply to this case."

This implies that Chief Prosecutor Lee is not the authorized requester, but it was also interpreted as revealing that the Supreme Prosecutors' Office and Suwon District Prosecutors' Office share the same opinion regarding Lee's indictment.

Chief Prosecutor Lee is accused of exerting external pressure to halt the investigation by the Anyang branch of the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, which was investigating allegations of illegal departure related to former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui, when Lee was head of the Anti-Corruption and Serious Crimes Division at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office in June 2019.

Although Lee strongly denies the charges, the investigation team is reported to have confirmed circumstances where Lee contacted then-East District Chief Prosecutor Han Chan-sik immediately after Kim's departure to attempt post-facto damage control and called then-Deputy Chief Prosecutor Bae Yong-won of the Anyang branch to halt the investigation's commencement.

Inside and outside the prosecution, the prevailing view is that Prosecutor Lee, who fabricated false official documents with fake internal investigation numbers to apply for Kim's emergency travel ban, and Chief Prosecutor Lee, who blocked the prosecution's investigation into such illegal circumstances, are likely to have committed crimes legally.

However, the Investigation Deliberation Committee members, composed of citizens from various fields such as academia, civic groups, culture, and arts, select 15 current members to participate in the deliberation through random drawing, and distribution is made to avoid concentration in specific professions. Therefore, only 2 to 3 members at most may have legal knowledge.

Among ordinary citizens, many believe that even if procedural illegality was involved in preventing former Deputy Minister Kim's escape-like departure, it can be tolerated, making the outcome of the Investigation Deliberation Committee uncertain.

If the Investigation Deliberation Committee is convened before the Recommendation Committee meeting as Chief Prosecutor Lee wishes and decides on 'non-prosecution' or 'suspension of investigation,' or if the confirmed convening delays the prosecution's indictment, Lee is expected to maintain his status as a strong candidate for Prosecutor General. Conversely, if the Investigation Deliberation Committee decides on an 'indictment opinion' before the Recommendation Committee meeting, it will be difficult for Lee to be appointed Prosecutor General.

As controversies surrounding Chief Prosecutor Lee continue, including the 'emperor escort' by the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials, former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Oh-soo, former Suwon High Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutor Lee Geum-ro, and former Busan High Prosecutors' Office Chief Prosecutor Yang Bu-nam have emerged as candidates for the next Prosecutor General.

Meanwhile, suspicions have been raised that there was prior coordination when the Ministry of Justice confirmed the schedule for the Recommendation Committee meeting shortly after Chief Prosecutor Lee applied for the convening of the Investigation Deliberation Committee the previous day.

However, on the morning of the same day, Minister of Justice Park Beom-gye dismissed related questions from reporters on his way to work, saying, "This Recommendation Committee meeting schedule is a natural progression from one procedure to the next and has no relation to events occurring on the front lines."

Regarding the possibility of including Chief Prosecutor Lee in the candidate pool, Minister Park avoided a direct answer, stating, "I think the Recommendation Committee members will freely discuss and narrow down the candidates," but hinted at Lee's potential selection by adding that the criteria for the next Prosecutor General appointment will have "a strong correlation with the President's national governance philosophy."