[Asia Economy Reporter Seongpil Cho] The Prosecutorial Investigation Deliberation Committee will convene on May 10 to decide whether to indict or continue the investigation of Lee Seong-yoon, the head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, who has been under investigation for the illegal travel ban case involving former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Hak-ui.
According to the legal community on the 29th, the Prosecutorial Investigation Deliberation Committee under the Supreme Prosecutors' Office decided on the same day to hold a meeting at 2 p.m. on May 10 to review the case involving Prosecutor Lee. Chairman Yang Chang-soo selected 15 current issue committee members from 150 to 250 experts in various fields such as academia, media, civic groups, and culture and arts through a lottery to review the case.
At the deliberation, the committee members will base their judgment on whether to indict or continue the investigation on written opinions of up to 30 pages submitted by the prosecution and Prosecutor Lee's defense counsel. The conclusion will be announced on the day of the deliberation. The committee's decision regarding indictment or investigation is only a recommendation, and the prosecution is not obligated to follow it.
The Suwon District Prosecutors' Office investigation team reportedly expresses confidence that they can secure an indictment opinion even if the committee convenes immediately. This indicates that there is substantial evidence to prove Prosecutor Lee's charges. However, there is also an opinion that the investigation team’s final stance on maintaining the indictment opinion is uncertain, as the committee might recommend suspension of the investigation or non-prosecution.
Prosecutor Lee’s exclusion from the next Prosecutor General candidate pool also serves as a factor that may relieve the investigation team’s burden. On the same day, the Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee nominated four candidates for the next Prosecutor General: former Deputy Minister of Justice Kim Oh-soo, Gwangju High Prosecutors' Office Chief Gu Bon-seon, Director of the Judicial Research and Training Institute Bae Seong-beom, and Deputy Prosecutor General Jo Nam-gwan. For the Suwon investigation team, which has been investigating Prosecutor Lee as a suspect for allegedly exerting pressure to halt the investigation during the 'Kim Hak-ui case,' this removes the concern that their actions might be perceived as a challenge to the president’s personnel authority.
Earlier, Prosecutor Lee applied for the convening of the Prosecutorial Investigation Deliberation Committee to the Suwon District Prosecutors' Office, which is investigating the illegal travel ban case, on the 22nd. The legal community analyzed that Prosecutor Lee, who had been considered a strong candidate for Prosecutor General, might have sought an external expert judgment to avoid indictment ahead of the Prosecutor General Candidate Recommendation Committee.
The Prosecutorial Investigation Deliberation Committee was introduced in January 2018 in response to calls for checks on the prosecution’s right to indict and has convened a total of 12 times so far. It is often held in cases of high public interest or where there is potential conflict between institutions, situations in which the prosecution faces significant political pressure regarding decisions on investigation and indictment.
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