The Prosecution Review Committee (hereinafter referred to as the PRC) will be held on the 6th regarding the allegations of 'receiving luxury bags' involving Kim Geon-hee, the spouse of President Yoon Suk-yeol.
With the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team having already concluded the case as no charges, attention is focused on what conclusion the PRC will reach on the day, and what final disposition the prosecution will make against Mrs. Kim accordingly.
The PRC will hold a closed special committee meeting at 2 p.m. at the Supreme Prosecutors' Office building in Seocho-gu, Seoul, to discuss whether to indict Mrs. Kim regarding the receipt of luxury bags.
Initially, the issue was whether Mrs. Kim violated the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, but the PRC will also review allegations including bribery solicitation, violation of the Attorney-at-Law Act, bribery, abuse of authority, and evidence tampering.
The PRC system was introduced during the tenure of former Prosecutor General Moon Moo-il as one of the prosecution's self-reform measures amid a strong government and ruling party push for prosecutorial reform. It was established to check the prosecution's exclusive right to prosecute by listening to the opinions of ordinary citizens rather than legal experts.
Article 1 (Purpose) of the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's "Guidelines for Operation of the Prosecution Review Committee" states that the PRC is "established to enhance public trust in the procedures and results of prosecution investigations."
The PRC is a body where experts from various sectors of society appointed as members deliberate on issues such as ▲whether to continue investigations ▲whether to prosecute or not prosecute ▲whether to request or re-request arrest warrants ▲the appropriateness and legality of investigations in cases where prosecution or non-prosecution decisions have been made, especially in cases attracting public suspicion or social attention.
The committee consists of between 150 and 300 members, appointed from various fields such as the legal profession, academia, media, civic groups, and culture and arts, who are "experts from various sectors of society with knowledge and experience in the judicial system, possessing integrity and insight."
Unlike the Supreme Prosecutors' Office's Expert Investigation Advisory Group or the High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office's Prosecution Review Committee, which are composed of prosecutors and legal scholars, the PRC is characterized by being composed of ordinary citizens from diverse fields who may lack specialized legal knowledge.
If complainants, victims, or suspects request the convening of the PRC, a subcommittee decides whether to refer the case to the PRC. However, in this case, Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok directly referred the matter to the PRC, so the special committee meeting was immediately scheduled.
At the special committee meeting, the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office investigation team will first attend and explain the investigation results so far. The investigation team is expected to state that since the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act does not have punishment provisions for spouses and that the gifts received by Mrs. Kim lack job-relatedness or quid pro quo, it is difficult to hold her legally responsible.
Mrs. Kim's legal representatives will also attend the meeting to present their position.
The special committee members will listen and aim to reach a unanimous decision if possible; if opinions differ, a majority vote of the attending members will decide the conclusion.
After the deliberation and resolution of the special committee, a review opinion report will be prepared. Then, the staff in charge will send a copy of the review opinion report to the chief prosecutor, who must attach it to the case records.
The special committee may autonomously decide whether to disclose the review opinion, the timing and method of disclosure, whether to notify the results, and the content of such notification.
Meanwhile, Article 19 (Effect of Deliberation) of the PRC operation guidelines states that "the chief prosecutor shall respect the review opinion of the special committee." In other words, the PRC's conclusions are not binding on prosecutors and are only advisory.
In fact, among the 15 PRC meetings held so far, 12 results have been disclosed, and in 8 of those 12 cases, the prosecution took actions different from the PRC's opinions.
In June 2020, the PRC overwhelmingly recommended "discontinuation of investigation" and "non-prosecution" regarding Lee Jae-yong, then Vice Chairman of Samsung Electronics, on charges of violating the Capital Markets Act related to the merger between Cheil Industries and Samsung C&T, but the prosecution indicted him in September of the same year.
In July 2020, regarding the so-called 'media collusion' case, the PRC decided to continue investigation and prosecute former Channel A reporter Lee Dong-jae, but for then Prosecutor Han Dong-hoon, 10 members recommended stopping the investigation and 11 recommended non-prosecution; however, the prosecution continued the investigation against Han.
In August 2021, regarding the 'Wolseong Nuclear Power Plant Unit 1 economic feasibility evaluation manipulation' allegations, the PRC recommended "discontinuation of investigation" and "non-prosecution" for former Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Baek Woon-kyu, who was indicted for abuse of authority and obstruction of business, but the prosecution additionally indicted him on charges of breach of trust and obstruction of business under the Specific Economic Crimes Act.
Given the sensitivity of the matter, the special committee's conclusion is expected to be announced late in the afternoon.
Pastor Choi Jae-young, who allegedly gave money and gifts to Mrs. Kim, requested to attend the review and present his opinion until the day before but has not received a response from the PRC.
Mrs. Kim is accused of receiving luxury cosmetics worth about 1.8 million KRW and luxury bags worth about 3 million KRW from Pastor Choi between June and September 2022.
Pastor Choi claims he gave the gifts to request favors such as the appointment of former U.S. Congressman Kim Chang-jun as a national advisory committee member, burial at the National Cemetery, and resumption of broadcasting on Tongil TV, or to meet for solicitation purposes.
Under the current Improper Solicitation and Graft Act, the spouse of a public official is prohibited from receiving money or valuables related to the official's duties. However, since the law only prohibits the receipt of money or valuables but lacks punishment provisions, it is structurally impossible to indict Mrs. Kim for violating the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act regarding the receipt of luxury bags.
Therefore, it was reviewed whether other charges such as bribery solicitation or bribery could be applied, but legal circles generally view it as difficult to prove elements such as job-relatedness and quid pro quo. However, considering that the PRC members attending the special committee are not legal experts and the public opinion that it is unreasonable for the president's spouse to receive luxury bags worth hundreds of thousands of won without any punishment, it is difficult to predict the outcome.
The Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office reportedly formed a dedicated investigation team in May and, after about four months of investigation, internally concluded that it is difficult to apply charges such as violation of the Improper Solicitation and Graft Act against Mrs. Kim.
Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok, while acknowledging the thoroughness of the investigation, referred the case to the PRC on his own authority on the 23rd of last month to enhance fairness.
If the PRC recommends non-prosecution, it is highly likely that the prosecution will close the case with a non-prosecution disposition before Prosecutor General Lee's retirement. His term expires on the 15th, and his retirement ceremony is scheduled for Friday the 13th next week.
On the other hand, if the PRC recommends prosecution, there is a possibility of a conflict of opinion between Prosecutor General Lee, who publicly stated he would respect the PRC's opinion along with the investigation team's, and Lee Chang-soo, head of the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office, over the final disposition of Mrs. Kim.
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
