Legislation and Judiciary Committee Passes Second Comprehensive Special Prosecutor Bill Led by Ruling Party... Unification Church Special Prosecutor Bill Put on Hold

Five Assistant Special Prosecutors,
15 Dispatched Prosecutors, and
130 Government Officials Involved

On January 12, the National Assembly's Legislation and Judiciary Committee convened the Agenda Coordination Subcommittee and, led by the ruling party, passed the second comprehensive special prosecutor bill, which covers incidents such as the December 3 Martial Law Incident. However, the special prosecutor bill on the Unification Church was put on hold, citing the need for further discussions between the ruling and opposition parties.

Kim Yongmin, the Democratic Party of Korea lawmaker and the ruling party's secretary on the Legislation and Judiciary Committee, told reporters after the subcommittee meeting that "it has been decided to reinvestigate areas that were insufficiently covered in the previous three major (insurrection, Kim Keonhee, Chae Sangbyeong) special prosecutor investigations."

Assemblyman Kim also explained that the method for recommending candidates for special prosecutor will involve one recommendation each from the Democratic Party and the largest non-negotiating group in the Assembly.

The investigation period was set at a total of 170 days, including a 20-day preparation period. The number of assistant special prosecutors was set at five, and the number of special investigators was increased to 100. The number of dispatched prosecutors was reduced from 30 to 15, while the number of dispatched government officials was revised from 70 to 130.

Assemblyman Kim explained, "The reduction in dispatched prosecutors stems from the awareness that the special prosecutor's office needs to move away from an overreliance on prosecutors in its investigations," adding, "Considering that the prosecution itself could be subject to investigation, it is reasonable to reduce the number of dispatched prosecutors."

This bill is expected to be reviewed at the full session of the Legislation and Judiciary Committee later in the afternoon and then submitted to the National Assembly plenary session on January 15.

Kim Yongmin, Democratic Party of Korea Lawmaker Photo by Yonhap News

However, the special prosecutor bill on the Unification Church, which was referred to the subcommittee, was not processed. The Democratic Party has insisted that, in addition to the Unification Church special prosecutor, the investigation should also cover suspicions of religious intervention involving the People Power Party, thereby pushing for a "Unification Church and Shincheonji" special prosecutor. Due to opposition from the People Power Party, no agreement has been reached between the two parties regarding the Unification Church special prosecutor.

Assemblyman Kim stated, "Democratic Party leader Jeong Cheongrae also told the People Power Party to choose between a special prosecutor and a joint police-prosecution investigation," adding, "Han Byungdo, who was elected as the new floor leader yesterday, also believes that an agreement with the People Power Party on the Unification Church special prosecutor is necessary."

He continued, "Since it is not possible to process the Unification Church special prosecutor bill at the January 15 plenary session, I understand that it will not be handled on that day," and added, "For this reason, party leadership requested that the Legislation and Judiciary Committee also refrain from processing the Unification Church special prosecutor bill today."

The People Power Party protested the Democratic Party's unilateral passage of the second comprehensive special prosecutor bill through the subcommittee. Their position is that, despite six months of investigation by the three major special prosecutors, the push for a second comprehensive special prosecutor is an attempt to incite insurrection charges and influence the local elections.

Assemblyman Kwak Gyutaek told reporters during the subcommittee meeting, "While the subcommittee was in progress, the Democratic Party unilaterally proceeded to a vote, and Assemblyman Joo Jinwoo and I left the meeting in opposition," adding, "They brought forward a proposal that significantly expands the scope of investigation targets compared to the original draft of the second comprehensive special prosecutor bill."

Assemblyman Joo argued, "Seoul City Council member Kim Kyung left the country and attempted to destroy evidence without a travel ban in place, which should not have happened. Yet, the police only questioned him for three and a half hours yesterday before releasing him," adding, "The original purpose of a special prosecutor is to be introduced when investigative agencies are swayed by those in power."