The Democratic Party of Korea introduced the "special prosecutor bill on fabricated indictments by the Yoon Suk-yeol administration" saying the prosecution under the Yoon Suk-yeol government must be investigated over alleged fabricated indictments. The bill includes a clause that could be interpreted as granting the controversial "power to cancel indictments" to the special prosecutor.
On the 30th in the afternoon, the Democratic Party submitted to the National Assembly's bill office the "bill on the appointment of a special prosecutor to uncover the truth about alleged fabricated investigations and fabricated indictments by the Prosecution Service, the National Intelligence Service, the Board of Audit and Inspection, and others under the Yoon Suk-yeol administration."
The special prosecutor's scope includes cases addressed in the parliamentary inquiry, such as: ▲ the Daejang-dong development preferential treatment case ▲ the Wirye New Town development corruption case ▲ the SSANGBANGWOOL remittances to North Korea case ▲ the alleged political funds case involving former Democratic Research Institute deputy director Kim Yong ▲ the alleged manipulation of real estate statistics under the Moon Jae-in government ▲ the killing of a South Korean fisheries official in the West Sea ▲ the alleged false reporting related to defamation charges against former President Yoon Suk-yeol.
The Democratic Party greatly expanded the special prosecutor's scope beyond the existing parliamentary inquiry to effectively include all cases linked to President Lee Jae-myung. These include: ▲ the Daejang-dong and Baekhyeon-dong development projects-related violations of the Public Official Election Act ▲ the Seongnam FC third-party bribery allegations ▲ the alleged breach of duty involving Gyeonggi Province corporate cards by Governor Lee Jae-myung. The wording also specifies, in relation to the Daejang-dong development scandal, "a case of abusing prosecutorial administrative authority by concentrating a large number of prosecutorial personnel over a long period."
The special prosecutor law also contains authority for the special prosecutor to cancel indictments in the president's cases. This is because the scope of duties states "the filing of indictments, the maintenance of indictments, and the decision on whether to do so." The Democratic Party vested exclusive authority in the special prosecutor to decide whether to file and maintain indictments for the targeted cases, making it appear possible to cancel indictments.
After introducing the bill, Democratic Party lawmaker Lee Geon-tae, asked whether the indictment maintenance clause also includes cancellation of indictments, said, "Authority has been granted in that way," adding, "If an independent special prosecutor uncovers the truth about fabricated indictments and such fabrication is acknowledged, the special prosecutor is expected to make an independent determination."
The special prosecutor's office would have up to six special prosecutors and up to 150 special investigators. There would be 30 dispatched prosecutors and about 170 dispatched public officials. The basic investigation period is 90 days, extendable twice by 30 days each. Depending on the outcome, if extended once with presidential approval, it would operate for up to 180 days.