<법사위> "Lee Jae-myung Should Face Swift Trial" vs "Mrs. Kim, Accomplice with Kwon Oh-soo and Lee Jong-ho"

與 "Pressuring investigative agencies with 'law distortion crime'"
野 "Mrs. Kim to file charges after the National Assembly audit ends"

On the 22nd, during the National Assembly Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit, the ruling and opposition parties clashed over the prosecution's decision not to indict regarding the judicial risks of Lee Jae-myung, leader of the Democratic Party of Korea, and the stock manipulation allegations against Kim Geon-hee. The ruling party pressured for a swift and strict judgment on the trials related to Lee Jae-myung, while the opposition party announced plans to file charges against Kim Geon-hee for her absence from the audit.

On the same day, Kwon Kyu-taek, a member of the People Power Party, pointed out in the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, "In the case of Lee's election law violation, it has taken more than two years just until the first trial verdict," adding, "The perjury coaching case also took over a year until the first trial verdict, and the trials related to Daejang-dong and Wirye New Town cases have been significantly delayed." He further claimed, "Due to trial delays, the opposition has proposed a law called 'law distortion crime' to impeach prosecutors and pressure investigative agencies." Kwon urged for a faster conclusion of trials involving major politicians, pressing for the investigation of Lee.

From the same party, Joo Jin-woo demanded live broadcasting of Lee's trial. He said, "It is desirable from the public's right to know and serves the public interest," and added, "Since Lee claims that 'evidence was fabricated, especially the recordings were edited,' he should agree to live broadcasting for his own sake."

Criticism also continued against the Democratic Party's push to impeach prosecutors investigating Lee. Song Seok-jun said, "With prosecutors under investigation being impeached and special prosecutor laws rampant, even the public is confused," and emphasized, "Trials must be free from external pressure and all political and social factors," while Jo Bae-sook raised her voice, saying, "Political retaliation against prosecutors will intimidate future investigators and prevent us from addressing injustices in society."

Kim Jeong-jung, Chief Judge of the Seoul Central District Court, is responding to lawmakers' questions during the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee's audit of the Seoul High Court, Seoul Central District Court, Suwon District Court, and others held on the 22nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min

Kim Geon-hee's Absence as Witness... Democratic Party to File Charges After Audit Completion

On the other hand, the opposition strongly criticized the prosecution's decision not to indict Kim Geon-hee regarding the Deutsche Motors stock manipulation allegations.

Jang Kyung-tae, a Democratic Party lawmaker, said about Kim's non-indictment, "It's like the bear performed the trick, the trainer made the money, but only the bear was indicted," and questioned, "Lee Jae-myung was indicted separately, but Kim Geon-hee was not indicted together. Isn't that the case?" Jang argued that the court should point out the non-indictment of connected individuals while multiple charges are proven for the same crime.

Kim Yong-min questioned the chief judge of the Seoul Central District Court, saying, "Prosecutors also admitted that Kim Geon-hee did engage in wash trading," and asked, "Can't Kim Geon-hee be considered an accomplice with Kwon Oh-soo, Lee Jong-ho, and their group?"

Opposition members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee announced they would file charges against Kim Geon-hee for her absence as a witness during the audit. In a press conference, they stated, "The committee has taken legal action against those who unjustifiably failed to appear at audits and hearings according to the law, and being the president's spouse does not exempt one from this."

Jang explained, "After the audit concludes, we plan to comprehensively file charges regarding all absences and perjury that occurred during the audit process."

Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Seung-won and Innovation Party lawmaker Park Eun-jung, along with other opposition members of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, held a press conference on the execution of the summons for First Lady Kim Keon-hee at the National Assembly Communication Office on the 22nd. Photo by Kim Hyun-min