[Reporter’s Notebook] Is the Special Prosecutor Free from Prosecutorialism or Its Successor?

Criminal Justice Turned Into a Hunt
Investigations Becoming Politics, Politics Becoming Investigations
Prosecutorial Power Not Weakened, But Redirected

"The commander (prosecutor in charge) cuts through the enemy's depth. He beheads and captures the enemy general (suspect). He views the suspect not as a human being, but as a target, a bullseye."

A member of the ruling party described 'the inner world of special prosecutors' in this way. He claimed that this is the mindset behind the prosecution's repeated targeted, ordered, and retaliatory investigations. Indictments stacked on top of one another, media trials through public disclosure of suspects' alleged crimes, and unnecessary searches of residences that amount to character assassination-he said that the excessive power of the prosecution ultimately led to the disintegration of the organization.

I agreed with his statement. Such investigations are not the operation of state punitive power. They are closer to war, hunting, sports, and live-broadcasted entertainment. It is a game where the concrete issues of a person's life, body, and liberty in criminal justice are used as a means to achieve victory-a match that must be won. This is the moment when investigations degenerate into state violence.

This ruling party member shifted the topic to special prosecutors. He likened the special prosecutor for insurrection to a set-menu meal, the special prosecutor for Kim Gunhee to a Korean full-course meal with many side dishes, and the special prosecutor for the fallen marine to "free temple food." The first, he said, operates systematically and with perfect coordination, while the second creates plenty of stories and "makes good food out of it." I found his words uncomfortable. He is a former prosecutor-turned-politician who was involved in designing the prosecution reform bill.

There are many similar scenes. In the insurrection special prosecution, the prosecution requested an arrest warrant for Drone Operations Commander Kim Yongdae because a suicide note was found during a search, but the court rejected it. The "photo line rule" established during the Moon Jae-in administration was not applied to Minister of Unification Kim Youngho or former Foreign Minister Cho Taeyul, both of whom were only witnesses. In the Kim Gunhee special prosecution, the summoning of businesspeople such as Kakao founder Kim Beomsoo as witnesses was announced in advance. Representative Lee Cheolkyu of the People Power Party and participants in the "Great Marines" group chat also had their residences searched as witnesses.

In fact, war-, hunting-, and sports-style investigations are currently at their peak, with the unprecedented operation of three special prosecutors. Behind this is the public's sense of justice-or more precisely, political objectives that seek to exploit it. There is a clear partisan desire for revenge: "Now it's your turn to suffer."

Of course, the truth behind the martial law and insurrection must be revealed. But we must also look at the truth behind the scenes. The prosecution's power has not been diminished; only the direction of the blade has turned 180 degrees. Prosecutors with pro-government tendencies have returned en masse. The biggest question is whether Minister of Justice Jeong Seongho will order the withdrawal of prosecution in the case involving President Lee Jaemyung. The prosecution is now ready to be "strict with dead power and lenient with living power."

I ask the advocates of prosecution reform: At a time when the separation of investigative and prosecutorial powers is being pursued, why is the prosecution's power being exercised more actively than ever? If the core of the special prosecution is the prosecution itself, can the special prosecutor and the prosecution truly be separated? Shouldn't the special prosecutor be the one to demonstrate "procedural justice" first? Only then can there be real momentum, justification, and legitimacy for genuine reform.