Three Special Prosecutors to Investigate Yoon Administration Allegations After Promulgation of Bills
About 120 Prosecutors to Be Dispatched
Cabinet to Also Deliberate on Justice Ministry Personnel Information Management Division Abolition Amendment
The so-called "three major special prosecutor bills" (National Rebellion Special Prosecutor Act, Kim Keonhee Special Prosecutor Act, and Chae Sangbyeong Special Prosecutor Act), which passed the National Assembly last week, are expected to be promulgated on June 10 after being reviewed by the Cabinet. If the "three major special prosecutor bills" pass the Cabinet meeting on this day, three special prosecutor teams will soon be launched to investigate allegations from the previous administration, including the allegedly unconstitutional and illegal declaration of martial law by former President Yoon Sukyeol, suspicions involving former First Lady Kim Keonhee, and the controversy over external pressure in the death of Marine Corps Corporal Chae Sangbyeong.
Additionally, the agenda for the Cabinet meeting includes a revision to the Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, which would allow the Minister of Justice to directly request disciplinary review against prosecutors, as well as a revision to abolish the Ministry of Justice’s Personnel Information Management Division.
The Cabinet meeting on this day will be presided over by President Lee Jaemyung and will begin at 10 a.m. The National Assembly had already sent the bills, which passed the plenary session on June 5, to the government on June 9. First, the "three major special prosecutor bills" passed the plenary session on June 5, led by the Democratic Party. After review and approval by Cabinet members and final ratification by the President, the bills will be published in the official gazette and promulgated. Based on the promulgated laws, the appointment and preparation of special prosecutors will proceed, after which the special prosecutor teams established under each law will begin their investigations.
The common feature of these special prosecutor bills is that they are all related to various allegations raised during the Yoon Sukyeol administration. Even during the Yoon administration, the Democratic Party had previously passed these bills and sent them to the government, but they were repeatedly nullified by former President Yoon’s exercise of veto power. However, now that the Lee Jaemyung administration is in office, these obstacles have been removed.
The "Chae Sangbyeong Special Prosecutor Act" covers the circumstances of the death of Marine Corps Corporal Chae Sangbyeong during a search operation for missing persons amid heavy rains in July 2023, as well as suspicions of interference in the investigation by senior officials during the Yoon administration. The "National Rebellion Special Prosecutor Act" targets 11 allegations, including acts of rebellion, foreign exchange inducement, and military coups, all related to former President Yoon’s December 3 Martial Law declaration.
The "Kim Keonhee Special Prosecutor Act" targets 16 allegations, including suspicions of stock price manipulation involving Deutsche Motors by former First Lady Kim Keonhee, the acceptance of luxury handbags, allegations related to "Geonjin Bopsa," and suspicions of nomination interference and illegal opinion polling involving political broker Myung Taegyun.
After being derailed by the presidential veto, these special prosecutor bills were revised and re-legislated with expanded charges and nationwide investigative authority. This also led to changes in investigative personnel and procedures. For the National Rebellion Special Prosecutor Act, the number of dispatched prosecutors increased from 40 to 60, and the number of assistant special prosecutors from 4 to 7, while the scope of investigation expanded to 11 items. With the three major special prosecutor bills, approximately 120 prosecutors will be assigned to these cases. Special prosecutor candidates will be recommended by the Democratic Party (one candidate) and by the Cho Kuk Innovation Party, which has the largest number of seats among non-negotiating groups (one candidate).
Additionally, the Cabinet agenda includes the revised Prosecutor Disciplinary Act, which allows the Minister of Justice, appointed by the President, to directly request disciplinary review against prosecutors, as well as the "Enforcement Decree on the Organization of the Ministry of Justice and Its Affiliated Agencies" and the "Enforcement Decree on the Collection and Management of Information on Public Office Candidates, etc." The core of these two amendments is the abolition of the Ministry of Justice’s Personnel Information Management Division, which was established during the Yoon Sukyeol administration to handle the vetting of senior public officials. Previously, on May 26, the Ministry of Justice issued a personnel order reassigning three prosecutors from the Personnel Information Management Division to frontline prosecutors’ offices.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet meeting on this day is also expected to focus on current issues in society, foreign affairs, and national security. On June 5, his second day in office, President Lee presided over his first Cabinet meeting, concentrating on economic issues. That meeting lasted three hours and forty minutes, with all Cabinet members having only a single roll of gimbap for lunch.
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