Democratic Party Lawmaker Lee Sung-yoon Reiterates Claim
Jo Guk, leader of the Jo Guk Innovation Party, criticized the prosecution, saying, "It's late, but all the 'ddong-gum' prosecutors must be exposed." This remark appears to be a reiteration of the claim made by Lee Seong-yoon, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, that "the prosecution held a drinking party at the office using special activity funds, got drunk, and defecated on the floor of the civil service office."
On the 17th, Leader Jo wrote on Facebook, "I knew about 개검 (gae-gum, prosecutors who act as dogs for power), 떡검 (tteok-gum, prosecutors who receive money under the name of bribes), and 색검 (saek-gum, prosecutors who had sexual relations with suspects in the interrogation room), but I did not know there were also 똥검 (ddong-gum, prosecutors who held a drinking party at the office using special activity funds, got drunk, and defecated on the floor of the civil service office)."
Earlier, on the 14th, Representative Lee mentioned the 'prosecutor intoxication incident' that occurred at the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office during the plenary session of the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee. It was alleged that on January 8, 2019, about 30 officials from the Ulsan District Prosecutors' Office drank alcohol using 'prosecutorial special activity funds' in the second-floor executive cafeteria and caused a scandal by defecating in the waiting room for civil petitioners.
Representative Lee claimed, "At the time of the drinking party, a chief prosecutor kicked the table and broke a glass, hit another prosecutor, and even lay down on the corridor floor to sleep." He added, "The next morning, a large amount of feces was found on the floor of the civil petitioners' waiting room. It is said that feces were smeared extensively on the washbasin and walls of the men's restroom." He also added, "It is reported that cash was given to the janitors to clean up the mess."
However, Oh Dong-woon, head of the High-ranking Officials' Corruption Investigation Office, said, "I've never heard of this before; it's the first time I'm hearing about it."
Leader Jo referred to this incident as 'ddong-gum' and pointed out, "It is outrageous that the case was covered up without any investigation into the ddong-gum prosecutors. This is a bad example showing that the prosecution's inspection function was ineffective," urging for a related investigation.
Meanwhile, on the 17th, the Jo Guk Innovation Party announced its plan to promote the enactment of the 'Special Act on Electronic Information Search and Seizure,' which prohibits the illegal collection, duplication, and use of electronic information by the prosecution for separate investigations. The party's push for this special act aligns with various 'prosecution reform bills' of the Democratic Party of Korea. Ahead of the general election in April, Leader Jo also declared that he would push for a state audit in the 22nd National Assembly regarding allegations that the prosecution unlawfully preserved digital information beyond the scope of search warrants, raising suspicions of illegal surveillance of civilians by the prosecution.
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