On May 7, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly held consecutive meetings of the Subcommittee on Bill Review and the plenary session, and passed an amendment to the Criminal Procedure Act that would suspend ongoing criminal trials if the defendant is elected president. The amendment was passed solely by the Democratic Party, as People Power Party lawmakers, who opposed the bill, left the meeting.
On the 7th, at the National Assembly in Yeouido, Seoul, during the plenary meeting of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held after the departure of the People Power Party members, Chairman Chung Cheongrae announced the passage of the bill concerning the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate the state manipulation and illegal election interference involving Kim Gunhee, Myeong Taegyun, and Geonjin Buddhist, and struck the gavel. Photo by Yonhap News
The amendment, proposed by Democratic Party lawmaker Kim Yongmin, newly stipulates that "if a defendant is elected president, the court must suspend the trial proceedings by decision from the day of election until the end of the presidential term." It also includes a provision to suspend trial proceedings from the time a defendant registers as a presidential candidate until the end of vote counting, in order to allow the candidate to participate in the election. However, those charged with crimes of insurrection or treason are excluded from this suspension.
Currently, Article 84 of the Constitution states, "The president shall not be subject to criminal prosecution while in office, except in cases of insurrection or treason." However, there is no clear provision regarding whether a criminal trial can continue if a person, already indicted for crimes other than insurrection or treason, is subsequently elected president.
According to the amendment, the criminal trial of a defendant elected as president will be suspended during their term in office.
The People Power Party has opposed the amendment from the outset, arguing that it is essentially a bill designed for Democratic Party presidential candidate Lee Jaemyung. If Lee wins the upcoming presidential election, all trials related to him, including the recent violation of the Public Official Election Act, which the Supreme Court remanded for a guilty verdict, would be halted.
On the same day, the committee also passed, with only Democratic Party and Innovation Party lawmakers present, the bill for the appointment of a special prosecutor to investigate state manipulation and illegal election interference involving Kim Gunhee, Myeong Taegyun, and Geonjin Buddhist, as well as the bill to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate acts of insurrection or treason involving former President Yoon Sukyeol and others.
The so-called "Chae Haebyung Special Prosecutor Act," which seeks to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the obstruction and cover-up of the investigation into the death in the line of duty of a Marine, was also passed.
In addition, an amendment to the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, which would allow the Minister of Justice, in addition to the Prosecutor General, to directly request disciplinary action against prosecutors, was also passed. Currently, the Prosecutor General requests disciplinary action, and the Ministry of Justice makes the final decision.
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