Presidential Office on Opposition's Special Prosecutor Bill for Chae Sang-byeong and Kim Yeo-sa: "The Public Must Be Tired Too"

President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the appointment ceremony for the new Chief of the Presidential Security Service at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 9th. [Image source=Yonhap News]

On the 9th, the Presidential Office criticized the 'Third-Party Recommendation Special Prosecutor Chaesangbyeong Act,' led by the Democratic Party of Korea, which passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's bill review subcommittee, calling it a "whitewashed special prosecutor law." It also pointed out that the passage of the special prosecutor law targeting First Lady Kim Geon-hee has likely "tired the public."

On the same day, a Presidential Office official met with reporters at the Yongsan Presidential Office and said, "Despite the police investigation results and the hearings revealing no evidence of external pressure, the special prosecutor law was proposed again," adding, "The public will be weary of the special prosecutor law being proposed."

The official criticized, "The third-party special prosecutor law allows the Supreme Court to recommend four candidates, from which the opposition party selects two, and even grants veto rights. Is this really a proper special prosecutor law?" He added, "Even the ruling party calls it a 'watermelon special prosecutor,' but if we were to say something, wouldn't it be a 'whitewashed special prosecutor'?"

He continued, "The High-ranking Officials' Crime Investigation Office (Gongsoocheo), created by the Democratic Party, essentially functions as a special prosecutor, yet it has not even summoned former Minister Lee Jong-seop," explaining, "This seems to be the answer."

Regarding the special prosecutor law for First Lady Kim Geon-hee, he said, "We previously exercised our right to request reconsideration," and "they are reintroducing a bill that was discarded, which is known to be a worsened version."

The special prosecutor law for First Lady Kim Geon-hee, which passed the bill subcommittee that day, includes investigations into eight suspicions surrounding her, such as the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation allegations, low-price stock purchase suspicions, personnel intervention and nomination interference allegations, and luxury handbag bribery suspicions.

The official stated, "In early January, we revealed issues such as ignoring constitutional conventions where the ruling and opposition parties agreed to process the bill together, the double investigation of the Deutsche Motors case which the Moon Jae-in administration thoroughly investigated for two years without indictment or even summons, causing human rights violations of related parties, politically biased special prosecutor appointments, and public opinion manipulation through false briefings." He added, "The public must be tired of reintroducing discarded bills."

Regarding the luxury handbag bribery suspicion involving First Lady Kim Geon-hee, the Presidential Office official said there is no separate position on the matter, as the Prosecutorial Investigation Deliberation Committee recommended non-prosecution and Prosecutor General Lee Won-seok stated that "unwise conduct and criminal punishment are different matters," noting that the issue is still under investigation.