Ruling Party: "Deliberate Destruction of Evidence by the Prosecution"
Opposition: "Hearings Must Not Influence Investigations or Trials"
The Legislation and Judiciary Committee of the National Assembly has decided to hold a legislative hearing on prosecutorial reform on September 22. During the hearing, the Democratic Party of Korea is expected to intensively question the prosecution regarding the so-called "Geonjin Beopsa cash bundle band loss" case and related matters.
On the 10th, Chu Mi-ae, the chairperson, is speaking at the plenary session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee held at the National Assembly. 2025.9.10 Photo by Kim Hyunmin
On September 10, the Legislation and Judiciary Committee adopted the "Plan for Holding a Legislative Hearing on Prosecutorial Reform" during its plenary session. The vote was conducted by a show of hands, led by the Democratic Party, despite opposition from the People Power Party.
The committee explained that the purpose of the hearing is "to investigate cases of abuse of investigative and prosecutorial powers and politically motivated investigations, which have been cited as grounds for the necessity of prosecutorial reform, and to confirm the need for legislative reform of the prosecution."
Previously, on September 5, the first subcommittee on bill review of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee also held a legislative hearing on prosecutorial reform. At that time, Democratic Party lawmakers summoned prosecution officials to question them about the circumstances surrounding the loss of the "Geonjin Beopsa cash bundle band."
This case involves the Seoul Southern District Prosecutors' Office securing 50 million won in cash in the form of a cash bundle from the residence of Jeon Mo, known as Geonjin Beopsa, in December of last year, after which the band and sticker attached to the bundle were lost. As a result, the prosecution was unable to identify the source of the cash. The Democratic Party suspects intentionality and is pushing for prosecutorial reform and the establishment of a permanent special prosecutor.
Kim Yongmin, the Democratic Party secretary of the committee, stated, "We attempted to negotiate with the opposition to limit the hearing to the 'Geonjin Beopsa cash bundle band loss' case, but no agreement was reached. Since the hearing will focus on the cash bundle band case, please finalize the list of witnesses and references accordingly."
On the other hand, Na Kyungwon of the People Power Party pointed out, "I expressed strong objections to the one-sided hearing held by the subcommittee last time. The point is that hearings should not be used as a pretext to influence ongoing investigations and trials, but once again, the Democratic Party has brought up the 'cash bundle band case.'
During the meeting, there was also a heated debate over the appointment of Na as secretary. Jeon Hyunhee of the Democratic Party argued, "In this extraordinary era, when we must end insurrection and judge state corruption, Representative Na does not even qualify as a member of the committee. The Geonjin Beopsa cash bundle band case is a deliberate destruction of evidence by the prosecution."
In response, Kwak Gyutaek of the People Power Party criticized the Democratic Party for pushing ahead with the legislative hearing after bypassing the process of consultation between secretaries and holding an agenda coordination committee, emphasizing, "The appointment of a secretary is a basic procedure. Why are you running the meeting like a children's game? This should not happen."
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