Deputy Minister of Justice at National Assembly Special Investigation Committee: "Opposition's Special Prosecutor Law Risks Investigation Abuse"

Controversy Over CIO's Authority to Investigate Yoon...
Prosecution Deemed Impossible

The People Power Party expressed concerns about the 'unlimited investigation' regarding the special investigation law on insurrection and foreign exchange crimes led by the six opposition parties including the Democratic Party, and Kim Seok-woo, Deputy Minister of Justice, also voiced a similar stance, stating that the law could be abused during the investigation process.

Deputy Minister Kim made these remarks on the 15th at the National Assembly during the 'Special Committee on the National Investigation into the Truth of the Insurrection Charges through the Declaration of Emergency Martial Law by the Yoon Seok-yeol Government (Insurrection Investigation Special Committee).' The special investigation law on insurrection and foreign exchange crimes, which passed the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee on the 13th, includes investigation targets such as dispatching troops to conflict zones, operating loudspeakers toward North Korea, striking the origin point of sewage balloons, drone infiltration, and leaflet distribution toward North Korea.

Deputy Minister Kim said, "I understand that the government of our country proposed this law in a state that corresponds to a kind of preliminary conspiracy to insurrection, as if trying to meet the conditions for declaring martial law by provoking North Korea to take military action," adding, "However, I am aware that there are various concerns about the risk of abuse during the investigation process, which has been discussed recently."

Yonhap News

When asked by Park Jun-tae, a People Power Party lawmaker, whether the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials (CIO) can investigate President Yoon’s alleged insurrection leader charges, Deputy Minister Kim replied, "It is not included in the basic crimes." He elaborated, "There is controversy over whether the CIO can prosecute or investigate insurrection, which is a connected crime, based on abuse of power as the basic crime," adding, "Basically, the current president cannot be 'prosecuted' for the basic crime of abuse of power. However, I understand there are various opinions on whether an 'investigation' is possible."

On the same day, the People Power Party fiercely criticized the CIO, citing reasons such as the CIO arresting President Yoon despite lacking investigation authority, obtaining an arrest warrant from the Seoul Western District Court instead of the court with jurisdiction, and conducting the arrest in a military and security restricted area without the approval of the person in charge. Kwon Young-se, Chairman of the Emergency Response Committee, claimed, "The reason the CIO insisted on the arrest is clear. The very purpose was to disgrace the president," and added, "Rather than the public’s desire for truth-finding, their only intention was to raise their own presence by arresting the sitting president."